AEC 


UNIVERSITY  OF 
ORTH  CAROLINA 
rary 

3l4 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


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RECOLLECTIONS 


OF 


Revolutionary  Times 

OR 

ROUND  ABOUT  THE  YULE-LOG 

BY 

A  CHURCH-WARDEN 


ILLUSTRATED    BY 

CHARLES  G.  BUSH  and  REGINALD  T.  SPERRY 


"Do  then  as  your  progenitors  have  done, 
And  by  their  virtues  prove  yourself  their  son." 

Dryden 


Copyrighted  1895, 
BY  C.  A.   BREWSTER. 


MANTTFACTURED  BY 

'.  H.  GILSON  COMPANY 

BOSTON 


g^biralbn. 


TO  THE  NTJIMEEOTJS  DESCENDANTS  OF 

SERQEANT  JOHN  BOUTON, 

A  PLANTER,   DEFENDER,    AND  LEGISLATOR  OF  THE  COLONY 

OF  CONNECTICUT. 


832773 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


1.     Family  party 

Froi 

PAGE. 

itispiece 

2.     Holly  and  ivy 

14 

3.     Hasty  departure 

16 

4.     Boar's  head 

31 

5.     Winchester  Cathedral 

33 

6.     Wells      . 

35 

7.     Salisbury 

37 

8.     Tintern  Abbey 

41 

9.     Loving  cup 

44 

10.     Children  in  procession 

55 

11.     Witches'  Lane 

. 

62 

12.     Money  Diggers 

64 

13.     Daisies     . 

66 

14.     Leeds  Church   . 

72 

15.     A  Renovated  Chancel 

74 

(1) 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


An  account  of  the  semi-centennial  celebration  of  the 
laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  Troy,  N.  Y.,  will  be  found  in  Appendix  B.  "  See 
Appendix  C,  for  Choral  Service." 


(0) 


TABLE   OF   C0]S^TE:N^TS. 


PAGE. 

Preface    ........         5 

Chapter  I.     Around  the  Yule-log  and  all  about  old 

Colony  times  ......         7 

Chapter  II.     Adventures  of  a  loyalist  by  sea  and  land 

and  how  he  escaped  the  redcoats  and  skinners     15 
Chapter  III.     Stormy   passage  —  A    privateer    en- 
countered—  Thanks  returned  in  St,  Paul's 
Cathedral  for  deliverance         .  .         .  21 

Chapter  I Y.     Town  and  country  —  Christmas  hunt 

in  Yorkshire  .....  25 

Chapter  Y.     Strasbourg,  and  animal  magnetism  29 

Chapter  YI.    Cathedral  tour  through  Rural  England     32 
Chapter  YII.     The  Yalley  of  the  Wye  and  Tiutern 

Abbey 40 

Chapter  YIII.     Highwaymen  on  Hounslow  Heath      45 
Chapter  IX.     Keturn  to  America     ...  48 

Chapter  X.       Dr.  Holyoake  and  the  Church  at 

Whiteplains  ......  52 

Chapter  XI.     Romantic  drives  and  Witches'  Lane       61 
Chapter  XII.     Deacon  Doolittle  and  what  became 

of  the  ruby  ring     ,         .         .         .         .  67 

Editor's  Postscript  .         .         .  .         .         .  72 

Appendix         .......  74 

^3) 


KSTTRODUCTOKY. 


Some  years  since  a  clergyman,  connected  with  the 
Parish  of  St.  Paul's,  Troy,  N.  Y.,  was  making  in- 
quiries about  the  traditions  of  the  Parish  and  was 
civil  enough  to  declare  tliat  he  got  more  information 
from  the  Avriter  than  from  any  one  else.  If  the  Mis- 
sion Church  of  the  Holy  Cross  be  considered  a 
branch  of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  he  certainly  had  a  good 
foundation  for  the  polite  remark,  for,  alas,  the 
Editor  of  these  Christmas  Stories  was  better  quali- 
fied to  give  the  early  history  of  the  Mission  than 
any  other  person  now  living. 

Several  attempts  having  been  made  without  suc- 
cess, he  at  length  determined  on  a  sort  of  allegorical 
history  of  the  Institution,  beginning  with  the  plant- 
ing of  the  Church  in  Norwalk,  Conn.,  in  the  days 
of  good  Queen  Anne. 

The  following  stories  of  "  Revolutionary  Times  " 
are  the  result,  and  it  is  hoped  will  be  found  appro- 
priate on  this  Semi-Centennial. 

The  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross  was  opened  for  ser- 
vice on  Christmas  Eve,  1844,  but  was  not  formally 
consecrated  until  December  6,  1848.  It  was,  per- 
haps, really  consecrated  on  Christmas,  1844,  by  the 

(i) 


Introductory.  ii 

prayers  of  the  founder  and  her  children,  with  whom 
tlie  enterprise  was  a  work  of  faith.  Their  hopes 
and  antici]3ations  have  been  more  than  realized. 

The  idea  of  a  Free  Church  and  Choral  Service 
may  have  seemed  to  some  persons  in  those  days 
rather  visionary.  The  ecclesiastical  authorities  of 
the  Diocese  and  the  rector  of  St.  Paul's  did  not,  how- 
ever, entertain  such  an  opinion.  Bishop  Williams, 
who  was  at  that  time  rector  of  St.  George's,  Schenec- 
tady, sympathized  heartily  with  us  in  our  views  and 
wishes,  and  suggested  the  Rev.  J.  Ireland  Tucker,  a 
Deacon  just  out  of  the  Seminary,  as  the  fittest  per- 
son to  carry  out  the  design  of  the  pious  Founder. 
Doubtless  others  may  have  thought  of  the  expe- 
diency of  the  Choral  Service  in  America,  but  it  was 
by  the  advice  and  approbation  of  the  late  Bishop 
Wainwright,  then  assistant  minister  of  Trinity 
Parish,  New  York,  that  the  attempt  was  first  made, 
and  this  attempt  was  in  St.  Paul's  Church  on  Eas- 
ter day,  1842,  which  experiment  resulted  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Choral  Service  in  the  Church  of 
.  the  Holy  Cross.  The  example  was  but  slowly  fol- 
lowed, first  in  the  Church  of  the  Advent,  Boston,  and 
then,  Avhen  Dr.  Cutler  went  to  New  York,  it  was 
established  in  Trinity  Church  and  Chapel.  See 
Appendix  B. 

N.   B.  W., 

Author  of  Lady  of  Lawford, 

and  othe?'  Christmas  Stories. 
Id^  Cottage, 

Mt.  Ida,  i8g4. 


RECOLLECTIONS 

OF 

REVOLUTIONARY   TIMES 


CHAPTER   I. 

"  The  old  north  breeze  thro'  the  skeleton  trees, 

Is  chanting  the  year  out  drearily; 
But  loud  let  it  blow,  for  at  home  we  know 

That  the  dry  logs  crackle  cheerily." 

Albert  Smith. 

On  Christmas  Eve  in  the  year  18 —  a 
family  party  was  gathered  round  the  yule- 
log  in  an  old  farmhouse  situated  at  the  head 
of  a  bay  or  inlet  in  the  ancient  town  of 
^N'orwalk,  Conn.  A  huge  log  draivn  from 
the  woods  on  the  farm  where  it  had  been 
seasoning  during  the  summer  months  had 
been  rolled  into  the  kitchen  with  hand-spikes 
and  placed  on  the  hearth  of  a  spacious  fire 
place  which  occupied  nearly  one  side  of  the 

(7) 


8  Recollectio:n^s 

apartment,  and  had  been  lit  as  in  the  "  Olden 
Time, "  in  the  midst  of  many  good  wishes 
for  a  Merry  Christmas.  It  had  been  the 
custom  for  generations  to  observe  Christ- 
mas-eve in  this  manner,  a  custom  evidently 
derived  from  Old  England  and  not  from 
the  Puritanical  founders  of  Neiv  England, 
who  gloried  in  its  thanksgiving  turkeys  and 
pumpkin  pies,  ^o  work  could  be  done  on 
the  farm  so  long  as  that  log  would  burn, 
which  you  may  be  sure  would  be  made  to 
hold  out  for  three  days  at  least.  Among 
those  who  were  warming  themselves  by  the 
ruddy  blaze  that  was  rearing  up  the  spa- 
cious chimney,  was  an  old  man  whose  head 
was  hoar  with  age  and  who  with  his  portly 
person  filled  a  capacious  arm-chair  solid 
enough  to  support  one  of  his  goodly  weight 
and  proportions.  In  response  to  the  re- 
quest of  one  of  the  children  who  was  sit- 
ting on  his  knee,  he  was  discoursing  of 
Christmas  in  the  ''Olden  Time."  This  ring- 
leader of  the  children  gathered  round  was 
a  delicate  fairy-like  figure  who  might  have 
been  in  her  teens,  but  was,  in  reality,  not 
above  twelve  years  of  age.     It  was  she  Avho 


OF  Revolutioxary  Times.  9 

had  led  the  band  of  young  voices  in  their 
welcome  of  the  yule-log,  singing  the  Yule- 
Song  as  it  was  rolled  into  the  kitchen  by 
the  boys.  [See  appendix.]  Her  complex- 
ion Avas  fair  and  ruddy  with  a  profusion 
of  black  cui'ly  ringlets,  and  a  pair  of  bright 
eyes  which  she  kept  fixed  on  her  grand- 
father with  an  earnest,  inquiring  look.  The 
old  man,  thus  addressed,  set  down  a  tank- 
ard of  mulled  cider  that  he  had  just  been 
drinking,  and  patting  the  girl's  curls  said — 
^'Mary,  would  you  know  all  about  the 
'Olden  Time'  and  the  marvelous  events  that 
followed  the  arrival  of  our  forefathers  to 
this  land  of  promise?  Then  sit  down  on  my 
foot-stool  and  I  will  tell  you  what  hapjjened 
in  my  time  and  in  the  old  time  before  the 
Revolution,  which  great  event,  although 
promising  a  glorious  future,  was  full  of 
doubt  and  difficulty;  and  had  not  a  kind 
Providence  raised  up  for  us  one  who  led  us 
through  the  wilderness,  even  as  Moses  led 
the  children  of  Israel,  our  Revolution  would 
have  been  a  most  miserable  failure. " 
"  Grandpa,  they  do  say  you  can  recollect 
about  old  times,  even  Avhat  happened  before 


10  Recollections 

the  French  "War  where  my  uncle  distin- 
guished himself  at  the  capture  of  Quebec. " 
"  Yes,  my  child,  and  the  sword  which  he 
wore  on  that  glorious  occasion  hangs  over 
the  parlor  mantelpiece.  Those  were  the 
times  when  we  of  Connecticut  lived  in  daily 
apprehension  from  the  Indians  and  the 
French  of  Canada,  who  frequently  made  in- 
cursions as  far  south  as  the  Valley  of  the 
Mohawk.  They  had  even  scalped  and  burnt 
the  inhabitants  of  Schenectady;  while  Al- 
bany was  in  constant  danger,  as  it  was  only 
fortified  by  palisades  which  afforded 
scarcely  more  protection  than  an  ordinary 
high  fence.  The  English  colonists  were, 
moreover,  threatened  from  the  West,  which 
was  also  occupied  by  the  French.  So  then 
we  colonists  cried  aloud  to  the  mother-coun- 
try. The  King,  hearing  our  prayer,  made 
war  on  the  French  King;  Canada  was  con- 
quered and  we  were  delivered  from  great 
peril."  Here  little  Mary  interrupted.  "Was 
not  that  the  war  that  my  uncle  Joseph  wrote 
the  history  of?"  "Yes,  and  we  had  the 
manuscript  which  was  preserved  with  care 
by  your  cousins  until  the  house  where  it 


OF   E,EVOLUTIOXARY    TiMEo.  11 

was  kept  was  burnt  by  the  British  in  spite 
of  the  protests  made  by  them  that  your 
uncle  had  borne  the  colors  of  his  regiment 
by  the  side  of  Wolfe  on  the  heights  of  the 
Plains  of  Abraham,  but  the  mercenary  sol- 
diers, being  Hessians,  could  not  understand 
a  word  of  English.  This  house  also  would 
have  been  burnt  had  it  not  been  saved  by  a 
good  lady  who  said  in  the  hearing  of  Gov. 
Tryon  that  the  proprietor  was  a  good 
friend  to  King  George  when  the  Governor 
called  out  to  the  soldiers  to  forbear."  Here 
little  Mary  said  "  Our  yule-log  seems  to 
have  been  a  talisman  bringing  good  luck  to 
the  house  and  all  surrounding  it.  I  have 
heard  also.  Grandpa,  that  uncle  Moses  was 
with  General  Montgomery,  when  like  Wolfe 
he  was  killed  before  the  same  fortress,  when 
attempting  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  to  take  Quebec  from  the 
English. "  "  That  is  quite  true,"  said  the 
old  gentleman,  "  and  my  youngest  brother 
was  under  age  at  the  time.  It  is  curious 
to  see  how  my  eldest  and  youngest  brothers 
show  their  French  descent;  for  with  their 
forefathers  for  many  generations  war  was 


12  Recollections 

their  principal  occupation.  It  was  my  great 
grandfather  who,  after  the  fall  of  Rochelle, 
came  to  this  country  with  the  Puritans  who 
settled  Connecticut.  You  should  know 
that  Xew  England  was  settled  more  than 
two  hundred  years  ago  by  the  Puritans  who 
rebelled  against  the  church  of  England  not 
liking  her  rites  and  ceremonies  which  they 
maintained  were  Popish  or  pagan  in  their 
origin,  and  Parliament  in  Oliver  Cromwell's 
tune  went  so  far  as  to  make  it  penal  even 
to  observe  Christmas  day.  However,  that 
act  was  speedily  repealed  on  the  happy 
restoration  of  Charles  II,  when  the  church 
was  tolerated  here,  although  not  the  estab- 
lished religion  of  the  ^New  England  colo- 
nists." The  other  children  gathered  round 
their  grandfather  now  began  to  show  signs 
of  uneasiness,  for  a  table  had  been  set 
whence  arose  an  appetizing  odor  of  pies  and 
cakes  just  drawn  from  the  oven.  The  blaz- 
ing yule-log  was  reflected  back  from  a  dres- 
ser of  gleaming  pewter  which  might  have 
rivaled  silver  itself.  After  grace  had  been 
said  the  old  gentleman  called  on  all  to  re- 
joice, especially  on  this  night  of  all  the  year 


OF  Revolutioin^aky  Times.         13 

of  "Peace  on  earth,  good  will  towards 
men."  The  children  concluded  the  supper 
by  singing  that  most  ancient  Christmas 
carol,  "  Christmas  in  the  Olden  Time,  "  ac- 
companied by  a  viohncello;  whilst  roast 
oysters  piping  hot  were  brought  in  from 
time  to  time  from  an  adjoining  apartment. 

"  Christmas  comes,  the  time  of  gladness 

Which  om'  fathers  gave  to  mirth ; 
Then  no  room  had  they  for  sadness, 

Joyous  at  the  Saviour's  birth: 
Then  each  homestead  decked  with  holly, 

Bay  and  ivy  leaves  were  seen, 
Winter's  brow  of  melancholy 

Cheering  with  a  chaplet  green." 

In  the  midst  of  these  gambols  who  should 
come  in  but  cousin  Jakin,  or  "  Jack"  as  he 
was  called  by  the  children,  an  old  bachelor 
and  a  great  favorite  with  them,  who  had 
been  a  great  traveller  in  his  youthful  days, 
and  in  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  "War 
had  accompanied  a  clergyman  returning  to 
England  (one  of  the  society  for  the  Prop- 
agation of  the  Gospel)  ;  for  these  mission- 
aries generally  returned  to  the  old  country 
after    the    Declaration   of    Independence, 


u 


Recollectio:n^s 


especially  if  their  churches  were  closed  or 
burnt  by  one  or  other  of  the  contending 
factions.  But  the  children  tiring  of  their 
sports  gathered  round  him  now,  seated  in 
the  old  arm-chair  by  the  yule-log,  whilst 
little  Mary  besought  him  to  relate  his  ex- 
perience of  Revolutionary  times. 


OP  Eevolutioitakt  Temes.        15 


CHAPTER  II. 

"Waning  moons  their  settled  periods  keep, 
To  swell  the  billows  and  ferment  the  deep." 

Addison. 

"  Soon  after  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence I  was  drafted  for  the  Continental 
Army ;  bnt  your  grandfather,  unwilling  that 
I  should  serve,  procured  a  substitute,  which, 
however,  the  military  authorities  would  not 
accept.  It  may  be  that  they  looked  on  one 
of  our  family  as  a  hostage  in  the  army. 
Moreover  your  grandfather,  being  a  zealous 
Churchman,  was  suspected  of  lack  of  pa- 
triotism; for  in  those  days  Church  and  King 
were  supposed  to  be  inseparable.  Besides, 
I  was  a  good  shot  among  our  militia.  Your 
uncle  Moses  coming  over  from  Washing- 
ton's army  gave  a  terrible  account  of  the 
destitution  of  the  troops,  and  of  the  hard- 
ships suffered  by  them  so  that  the  soldiers, 
in  derision,  were  called  '  Barefoots. '  Of 
course  all  this  alarmed  my  parents  who  had 


16  Recollection^s 

no  idea  of  their  boy  serving  as  a  private 
soldier,  especially  as  both  of  his  uncles  had 
been  commissioned  officers,  one  in  the  old 
French  AVar  and  the  other  in  our  own  Rev- 
olution. My  father  being  devoted  to  the 
Church  of  England  was  greatly  alarmed  at 
the  idea  of  independence ;  for  it  was  thought 
'  No  King,  no  Church,''  Indeed,  in  Connec- 
ticut, Churchmen  were  only  tolerated ;  and 
without  royal  support  they  naturally  appre- 
hended a  revival  of  the  intolerance  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  If  it  had  not  been  for 
party  spirit  which  ran  high  they  might  have 
remembered  that  Washington  and  the  lead- 
ing men  in  Congress  were  Churchmen. 
Perceiving  how  the  matter  stood  I  suddenly 
took  French  leave,  and  one  moonlight  night 
with  the  help  of  my  brother  Stephen  crossed 
the  Sound  in  a  sail  boat  to  the  Long  Island 
shore,  then  in  possession  of  the  British.  As 
we  encountered  not  only  a  north-east  storm 
but  an  English  man-of-war  under  full  sail 
we  prudently  kept  in  shallow  water,  not 
willing  to  run  the  risk  of  being  impressed 
for  seamen.  It  took  us  nearly  all  night  to 
cross.     Tired  and  sleepy  I  managed  to  find 


OF  Reyolutioxaey  Tenies.         17 

my  way  to  the  house  of  a  friend  of  your 
grandfather's,  who  m  happier  days  had 
married  a  daugliter  of  our  neighbor,  Grov. 
Fitch,  the  last  Colonial  Governor  of  Connec- 
ticut. Her  husband  was  from  home;  the 
good  lady,  however,  heard  my  story  and 
promised  me  protection.  ^But  you  are  in 
danger '  said  she,  '  for  the  red-coats  make 
the  rounds  every  night  looking  for  spies. 
One  was  hung  the  other  day  on  slight  evi- 
dence. I  will  hide  you  to-night,  but  you 
had  better  to-morrow  morning  make  your 
way  to  the  Commander  of  the  forces,  who 
resides  at  Rock  Hall,  not  many  miles  from 
here.  As  I  happen  to  know  the  Colonel 
I  will  give  you  a  line  of  recommendation.' 
So  saying  she  took  me  up  into  the  garret 
and,  in  a  narrow  space  between  the  chimney 
and  the  rafters  of  a  lean-to  roof  which 
covered  the  kitchen  below,  I  was  ensconced, 
protected  by  barrels  and  bags.  Shortly 
after  I  heard  the  tramp  of  soldiers  who 
seemed  not  to  suspect  that  there  could  be 
anyone  behind  the  chimney.  When  they 
were  gone  I  had  a  game  supper,  and  was 
shown  to  the  guest-chamber  where  I  had  a 


18  Eecollections 

comfortable  bed.  The  next  morning  early 
I  was  on  my  way  to  Rock  Hall  but  was 
shortly  overtaken  by  a  peddler  who  gave 
me  a  lift.  The  Colonel  received  me  politely 
and  listened  to  my  story  with  evident  inter- 
est, for  he  called  his  man  Sambo  to  bring 
us  a  tankard  of  cider,  which  vessel  I  ob- 
observed  was  silver  and  of  quaint  device. 
The  Colonel  and  I  drank  together  'A 
health  to  the  King  and  a  speedy  end  of 
our  unhappy  war.'  Before  dismissing  me  the 
Colonel  asked  me  a  good  many  questions 
about  the  state  of  the  Province,  which  I 
answered  cautiously,  for  I  had  no  idea  of 
acting  as  a  spy  on  either  side.  However, 
I  did  not  hesitate  to  admit  that  Churchmen 
were  unwilhng  to  part  with  their  ministers, 
many  of  whom  were  missionaries  from  the 
S.  P.  G.  who  felt  bound  to  return  to  the 
^Mother  Country,'  and  who  were  appre- 
hensive of  the  intolerance  of  earlier  times, 
when  the  use  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  was  illegal.  The  Colonel  observed 
that  England  had  just  incurred  an  enor- 
mous debt  in  driving  out  our  neighbors,  the 
French,  in  response  to  our  earnest  prayer. 


OF  Revolutionary  Times.         19 

and  it  seemed  but  just  that  we  who  had 
been  benefited  should  share  the  expense 
of  the  French  War.  The  conversation  was 
here  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  Major 
Bourlac  whose  acquaintance  I  had  made  at 
the  house  of  Dr.  Smithson,  in  ]S^orwalk. 
As  I  told  these  gentlemen  that  I  meant  to 
try  and  find  the  Doctor  before  I  decided 
what  I  had  best  to  do,  the  Major  at  once 
promised  to  give  me  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion to  his  relatives  in  ^ew  York,  as  he  was 
a  native  of  that  town,  already  becoming  a 
place  of  importance.  With  passport  that 
the  Colonel  furnished  me  I  managed  to  find 
my  way  to  ^ew  York,  where  I  rejoined  my 
old  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Smithson,  who  pro- 
cured for  me  a  passage  in  the  ship  that  was 
to  take  us  to  the  port  of  London.  The 
Doctor  told  me  it  would  be  some  time  be- 
fore we  sailed  and  that  he  had  recommended 
me  to  Gov.  Try  on,  of  l^ew  York,  as  a  bearer 
of  dispatches  up  the  Hudson  River,  for 
which  I  should  receive  a  handsome  remun- 
eration. The  mission  was  deemed  somewhat 
dangerous,  Major  Andre  having  recently 
been  hanged  as  a  spy.     The  sloop  on  which  I 


20  Recollectiois^s 

sailed  was  armed.  As  I  had  never  been  on 
the  Hudson  I  gladly  accepted  the  position? 
but  the  vessel  was  obliged  to  return  to  ]S'ew 
York,  after  spending  a  whole  day  in  the 
vain  attempt  to  get  above  the  American 
lines.  I  managed,  however,  to  execute  the 
Governor's  commission  in  spite  of  the 
'  skinners.'  A  whole  day  was  spent  in 
exchanging  shot  with  an  American  gun- 
boat. The  grape-shot  rattled  about  our  deck 
like  hail.  Luckily  no  one  was  seriously 
hurt,  and  thus  was  I  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  which  was  quite  enough,  seeing  that 
I  had  not  been  trained  to  arms  and  was 
only  a  spectator.  On  my  return  to  Xew 
York  I  set  sail  in  company  with  Dr.  Smith- 
son,  and  with  a  well-filled  purse  of  British 
gold  which  my  father  had  found  means  of 
augmenting.  Major  Bourlac's  friends  re- 
ceived me  with  much  kindness  for  which 
they  were  afterwards  called  to  account  at 
the  close  of  the  War,  when  they  and  other 
Loyalists  were  banished  to  ^ova  Scotia." 


OF  Revolutionaey  Times.         21 


CHAPTEE  ni. 

"  A  ship  that  through  the  ocean  wide, 
By  conduct  of  some  star,  doth  make  her  way, 
When,  as  a  storm  hath  dimm'd  her  trusty  guide, 
Out  of  her  course  doth  wander  far  astray." 

"  AVe  set  sail  with  a  fair  wind,  but  in 
mid-ocean  encountered  severe  gales  which 
blew  us  out  of  our  course,  so  we  were  much 
nearer  the  coast  of  France  than  England. 
The  storm  had  scarcely  abated  before  we 
met  with  a  privateer  who  gave  chase,  but 
under  press  of  canvas  we  made  for  the 
coast  of  England.  Fortunately  our  vessel 
was  armed,  anticipating  some  such  adven- 
ture, so  that  we  kept  up  a  distant  cannon- 
ade for  the  greater  part  of  the  day  with- 
out much  result  on  either  side,  except  that 
a  round  shot  from  the  privateer  struck  the 
ship  near  where  I  was  standing  and  a  splin- 
ter imfortunately  struck  me  in  the  face, 
the  wound  ultimately  causing  the  loss  of 
the  sight  of  one  eye  which  loss  entailed,  as 
you    will    see,  many   disagreeable    conse- 


22  EECOLLECTIOIirS 

quences.  Some  of  our  shot,  however,  carried 
away  part  of  the  privateer's  rigging,  which 
had  the  effect  of  retarding  her  pi*ogress  a 
little;  but  we  began  to  feel  uneasy  at  her 
gradual  approach,  when  suddenly  an  Eng- 
lish ship-of-war  hove  in  sight  and  seeing 
our  precarious  situation  made  after  the 
privateer,  which  was  flying  colors  our 
sailors  had  never  seen  before."  Here  a  little 
boy  cried  out,  "  Cousin  Jack,  the  flag  must 
have  been  the  stars  and  stripes."*  "You 
are  right,  my  boy,  and  the  star  of  Bethlehem 
on  its  blue  ground  is,  as  its  color  denotes, 
the  star  of  hope,  and  was  wisely  chosen  by 
the  founders  of  the  rising  Rep)ublic;  for 
it  seems  to  foretell  a  mighty  future  which 
some  of  you  children  may  live  to  see." 

Here  the  young  ones  were  beginning 
to  show  signs  of  revived  interest  at  the 
name  "  privateer."  "  These  men-of-war 
became  engaged  and  we  could  hear  them 
battling  in  the  distance.  There  was  a 
bright  blaze  and  an  explosion,  and  we  after- 
wards learned  that  the  privateer  was  blown 

'^  It  is  said  that  the  flag  originated  in  the  arms  of  the 
Washington  family. 


or  Revolutioxaey  Tidies.  23 

up.  Immediately  after  coming  to  anchor 
in  the  Thames  below  London  Bridge  my 
pious  patron,  the  Doctor,  insisted  on  our 
going  to  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  to  return 
thanks  for  our  safe  deliverance  from  the 
perils  of  the  deep.  Here  the  Doctor  hap- 
pened to  meet  with  an  Oxford  acquaintance, 
Avho  was  one  of  the  Canons  of  the  Cathe- 
dral. We  were  much  impressed  with  the 
dignity  and  solemnity  of  the  Cathedral 
service  especially  with  the  Litany,  chanted 
by  two  Minor  Canons,  a  full  surpliced  choir 
responding.  As  we  had  nothing  like  this 
in  America  it  made  a  great  impression  on 
our  minds.  It  being  high  festival  the  Lord 
Mayor,  Sheriffs,  and  Aldermen  were  in 
church,  in  their  robes  of  office,  which  made 
a  brilliant  scene  taken  with  the  extent  and 
grandeur  of  the  Cathedral,  in  which  the 
good  Doctor  declared  we  should  feel  at 
home,  as  Connecticut  was  a  part  of  the 
Diocese  of  London.  The  next  day  he  and 
his  friend  found  employment  for  me  in 
a  great  mercantile  house  not  far  from 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  the  great  dome  of 
which  seemed  to  hover,  as  it  were,  over  the 


24  Eecollectioxs 

great  metropolis  of  England."  As  our  yule- 
log  was  still  burning,  it  was  thought  it 
would  hold  out  a  little  longer,  so  the  adven- 
turous traveller  agreed  to  come  next  night 
and  continue  the  stor}^  He  declared,  hoAv- 
ever,  that  they  must  not  expect  any  more 
piratical  adventures,  for  such  the  contest 
with  the  privateer  might  be  considered, 
although  privateering  seemed  excusable 
under  the  circumstances  out  it  was  not 
possible  for  the  colonies  to  equip  them- 
selves with  a  regular  navy. 


OF   REyOLUTIO:N^ARY    Tl3IES.  25 


CHAPTER  lY. 

' '  The  babbling  echo  mocks  the  hounds, 
Replying  shrilly  to  the  well-tuned  horns;" 

Shakespeare. 

The  next  night  as  the  cat  was  purring 
very  comfortably  in  front  of  the  yule-log 
there  entered  with  cousin  Jack  his  favorite 
dog  who  immediately  made  for  Grimalkin, 
who  aroused  from  her  agreeable  slumber, 
flew  to  the  top  of  the  clock  which  she 
reached  by  way  of  a  towel  that  hung  in  the 
corner,  from  which  position  she  could  look 
down  on  the  enemy  with  calm  indifPerence. 
The  dog  having  been  turned  out,  cousin 
Jack  proceeded  with  his  story.  "  This  little 
incident "  said  he  "  reminds  me  of  a  hunt  I 
once  witnessed  at  this  season  in  the  hall  of 
an  old  country  house  in  Yorkshire  where 
my  patron  and  I  were  spending  the  Holi- 
days. A  cat  was  let  loose  and  hunted  by  a 
couple  of  hounds  introduced  for  the  pur- 
pose.    It  seemed  to  be  common  in  the  north 


26  Recollectioxs 

of  England  in  ancient  times  and,  like  other 
sports  and  pastimes,  had  once  its  religious 
signification;  for  says  the  old  ballad,  'In  ane 
compendius  Boke  of  godly  and  spiritual 
Song  printed  in  Edinburgh,  1621 :  — 

"The  hunter  is  Christ  that  hunts  in  haist, 
The  hunds  are  Peter  and  Pawle, 

The  paip  is  the  fox,  Rome  is  the  rox, 
That  rubbis  us  on  the  gall." ' 

The  sport  in  the  baronial  hall  of  Sandals 
Manor  was  in  modern  times  very  much 
modified  so  that  the  cat  managed  to  escape, 
as  she  did  now.  In  old  times  the  fox  was 
considered  almost  as  great  an  enemy  to  the 
farmer  as  the  Avolf,  consequently  both  were 
hunted  without  mercy,  and  in  AVykliff's 
time  the  exactions  of  the  court  of  Kome 
were  thought  to  be  intolerable  not  only  in 
Britain  but  in  other  parts  of  western 
Christendom.  King  and  Parliament  pro- 
tested against  this  galling  taxation  Magna 
Charta  declared  the  freedom  of  the  Church 
of  England.  The  Church  has  always  been 
willing  to  admit  the  primacy  of  the  see  of 
Kome  but  its  supremacy  was  denied.     But, 


OE  Kevolutioxaky  Times.         27 

children,  perhaps  your  game  of  puss-in-the- 
corner  is  a  survival  of  this  curious  fox 
hunt. 

However  the  sound  of  horn  and  '  hallo !  ' 
made  a  very  considerable  racket  and  con- 
fusion. 

I  remained  some  years  abroad,  as  you 
may  have  heard,  and  the  consequence  of 
my  misfortune  was  an  apprehension  on 
the  part  of  the  good  Doctor  that  I  might 
lose  the  sight  of  both  eyes,  but  skillful 
care  saved  the  sight  of  one.  I  had  an  ear 
for  music,  and  the  Doctor  procured  for  me 
instruction  on  the  piano  and  finally  obtained 
for  me  the  position  of  organist  in  an  old 
church  in  London,  the  rectorship  of  which 
had  been  presented  to  him  and,  being  a  val- 
uable livhig,  he  generously  allowed  me  to 
partake  of  his  good  fortune  which  had  been 
greatly  increased  by  handsome  bequests 
from  a  cousin  who  left  him  an  estate  in 
Yorkshire.  As  the  Doctor  never  married 
he  was  kind  enough  to  make  his  house 
my  home,  and  it  was  so  arranged  that  we 
migrated  from  London  to  Yorkshire,  where 
we  had  a  country  church  with  a  picturesque 


28  Eecollectioxs 

parsonage  in  one  of  those  model  English 
villages  you  read  about  in  story  books. 
The  Doctor  took  me  with  him  on  a  Cathe- 
dral tour,  so  that  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  much  of  the  architectural  glory  of 
Old  England;  and,  as  we  travelled  on  tojD 
of  a  stage-coach  or  in  a  post-chaise  in 
summer,  I  had  also  the  advantage  of  wit- 
nessing the  unexcelled  beauty  of  the  Eng- 
lish landscape  adorned  with  numerous 
venerable  ivy-covered  ruins  and  innumer- 
able picturesque  villages  protected  as  it  were 
by  its  stately  halls  and  castellated  mansions, 
which  seemed  to  make  England  the  fairy- 
land of  Euroj)e." 

Here  cousin  Jack's  story  was  interrupted 
by  the  su23per,  after  which,  the  old  folks 
having  retired  to  the  parlor,  he  was  per- 
suaded to  continue  his  story  as  follows  in 
the  next  chapter. 


OF  Revolutionary  Temes.         29 


CHAPTER  V. 

"  For  spirits,  freed  from  mortal  laws,  with  ease 
Assume  what  sexes  and  what  shapes  they  please.'' 

Pojye. 

"  We  made  a  tour  of  the  continent.  At 
Strasbourg  we  visited  the  Marquis  de  Cham- 
illy  to  Avhom  my  patron  had  a  letter  of 
introduction.  The  Marquis  had  a  taste  for 
occult  sciences  and  was  also  a  believer  in 
animal  magnetism.  He  lived  in  a  quaint 
old-fashioned  house  in  the  suburbs  of  Stras- 
bourg in  sight  of  the  spire  of  the  Cathedral. 
The  house  had  the  reputation  of  being 
haunted  by  a  poltergeist  or  gobhn  ayIio,  tra- 
dition said,  mounted  guard  over  '  hidden 
treasure;'  indeed  the  Marquis  was  said  to 
be  descended  from  the  good  St.  ^N^icholas 
himself,  the  patron  saint  of  the  Rhineland. 
The  poltergeist  was  said  to  be  especially 
busy  on  Christmas-eve,  being  evidently 
then  very  much  concerned  about  the  hidden 
treasure.  The  rambling  old  house  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  considerable  park,  in  which 


30  Recollectiot^s 

was  an  old  tree,  magnetized  by  the  Marquis , 
that  had  worked  many  wonderful  cures,  es- 
pecially among  the  peasantry  on  his  estate, 
around  which  his  patients  would  sit  from 
morning  till  night  breathing  the  healthful 
breezes  that  swept  over  the  park,  and  invig- 
orated by  the  magnetic  fluid  which  issued 
from  the  balsamic  branches  of  the  tree.  The 
Marquis  was  also  a  dabbler  in  those  kin- 
dred sciences  of  Astrology  and  Alchemy, 
belief  in  which  was  still  prevalent  in  the 
Rhineland.  He  told  me  that  an  ancestor  of 
his  in  the  days  of  Cardinal  Richelieu  had  a 
brother  who  emigrated  to  America.  We 
afterwards  learned  that  the  Marquis  was  a 
victim  of  the  French  Revolution." 

Supper  being  announced  and  the  yule- 
log  still  burning  bright,  little  Mary  begged 
her  cousin  to  continue  his  story  about  Old 
England  after  supper,  for  she  was  sure  that 
they  would  all  rather  listen  to  his  adven- 
tures than  play  puss-in-the-corner,  or  any 
other  Christmas  game.  Cousin  Jack  help- 
ing   himself   to    a   slice   of   head-cheese^ 

*  This  appears  to  be  a  survival  of  that  most  famous  of 
Christmas  dishes,  the  *'  Boar's  Head." 


OF  Revolutio]s^aey  Times. 


31 


observed  that  if  they  were  ready  to  listen 
he  would  go  on  with  his  European  adven- 
tures even  at  the  risk  of  being  taken  for 
another  Baron  Munchausen. 


32  Eecollections 

CHAPTEE  YI. 

Cathedral  Tour  i:n^  Rural  England. 

''The  growing  tow'rs  like  exhalations  rise, 
And  the  huge  columns  heave  into  the  skies." 

Pope. 

"  But  if  rural  England  with  its  old  castles 
and  abbeys  was  interesting  to  an  Ameri- 
can, the  Cathedrals  with  their  solemn  choral 
services  were  still  more  so;  for  England  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  unlike  Scotland  and 
other  protestant  countries,  had  preserved  its 
Episcopate,  looking  upon  the  Bishops  as 
the  lawful  successors  of  the  Apostles,  con- 
sidering those  words  addressed  to  the 
eleven :  '  Lo !  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world'  as  a  promise  of 
the  greatest  significance.  To  be  sure  the 
Bishops  had  in  the  Middle  ages  become  iden- 
tified with  the  secular  princes  and  barons  and 
consequently  like  them  were  very  worldly 
minded ;  but  the  people  of  England  resolved 
to  reform  and  not  to  destroy  a  divinely  ap- 


Winchester  Cathedral. 


OF  Revolutionary  Times.  33 

pointed  institution.  It  was  while  we  were 
staying  at  the  house  of  a  country  gentle- 
man in  Devonshire  that  the  idea  of  bring- 
ing the  solemn  Cathedral  service  into  this 
country  was  suggested.  'For,'  said  the 
good  lady  of  the  Baronet,  'you  are  young 
and  have  a  decided  taste  for  music;  why  not 
devote  your  talent  to  the  service  of  the 
church  ?  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  is 
about  to  consecrate  Bishops  for  America ; 
our  Cathedral  service  if  introduced  into  your 
native  country  might  prepare  the  way  for 
the  Cathedral  which  your  Bishops  sooner  or 
later  should  have  if  they  are  to  be  like  their 
Apostolic  brethren  of  other  countries.'  My 
patron  and  I  travelled  post  through  the 
southern  and  western  counties  tarrying  a  day 
or  two  at  the  Cathedral  towns  to  admire  the 
magnificent  churches  of  the  middle  ages. 
Our  first  stopping  place  was  Winchester,  the 
former  capital  of  Saxon  England.  The  Ca- 
thedral is  not  only  remarkable  for  its  extreme 
length  (545  ft.)  but  for  being  a  celebrated 
example  of  perpendicular  architecture,  being 
designed  by  its  Bishop,  "William  of  Wyck- 
ham.     As  we  entered  we  heard  the  distant 


34  Eecollectiois^s 

music,  the  singers  being  hid  from  view  by  the 
screen,  which  separates  the  choir  from  the 
nave.  As  we  stood  here  alone  for  some  time 
in  this  vast  space,  looking  through  the  vista 
of  the  receding  arches  of  the  aisle;  and 
listening  to  the  unaccompanied  voices  of 
the  choir,  it  required  little  to  imagine  that 
the  music  we  heard  was  from  the  spirit- 
world,  so  celestial  seemed  the  harmony  that 
lingered  among  the  arches  of  the  lofty 
vaulted  roof.  One  of  the  striking  pecul- 
iarities of  the  Cathedral  service  particularly 
worthy  of  admiration  was  the  usage  of 
chanting  the  versicles  and  responses  with- 
out the  organ;  the  organ  accompaniment 
beginning  with  the  Venite  or  Psalms.  The 
unsupported  voices  of  the  choir,  heard  in 
the  distance,  was  quite  ethereal  and  ren- 
dered the  surrounding  quiet  and  repose 
more  profound.  At  Westminster  Abbey  I 
observed  that  we  did  not  hear  a  note  of  the 
organ  until  the  choir  in  response  to  the 
officiating  minister  '  The  Lord's  name  be 
praised;'  then  the  organ  burst  forth  with  a 
grand  flourish,  which  seemed  to  fill  the  vast 
building  with  a  glorious  harmony  followed 


Wells  Cathedral. 


OF  Revolutioxai^lY  Times.         35 

by  the  imaccompanied  voices  of  the  choir, 
the  organ  coming  in  softly  at  the  second 
verse  which  swelled  from  time  to  time  into 
bursts  of  snblimit}^ 

While  at  Winchester  we  visited  the  Hos- 
pital of  St.  Cross,  which  with  its  Cathe- 
dral-like, cruciform  Church  and  Hundred 
Men's  Hall,  seemed,  as  the  Doctor  said,  like 
a  piece  of  primitive  Christianity,  with  its 
home  for  the  aged  and  infirm  and  its  provi- 
sion for  the  wayfarer  of  bread  and  '  jolly 
good  ale,  and  okl.'  After  leaving  Win- 
chester we  continued  our  journey  through 
rural  England,  taking  in  our  way  some  eight 
or  ten  Cathedral  cities.  Our  Cathedral  tour 
was  made  in  summer  when  old  England 
was  in  a  sort  of  holiday  garb  of  living 
green  with  its  hedgerows  and  ruined  walls 
covered  with  a  graceful  mantle  of  ivy. 
The  Cathedral  churches  were  scattered  all 
over  the  country  seeming  to  sanctify  the 
land  and  united  as  it  were  in  a  perpetual 
Hallelujah  Chorus. 

But  I  must  hurry  on,  for  it  waxes  late; 
it  suffices  to  say  we  were  charmed  and  as- 
tonished with  the  magnificent  front  of  Wells 


36  Recollections 

Cathedral,  with  its  multitude  of  niches  and 
statues  illustrative  of  the  Te  Deum,  for 
the  front  of  this  noble  edifice  is  truly  a  hymn 
of  praise  cut  in  stone;  and  the  interior  of 
the  Cathedral  is  worthy  of  its  stately  front, 
for  beyond  the  choir  is  the  octagonal  Lady- 
chapel  opening  into  the  choir  by  arches,  the 
vista  being  truly  glorious.  And  then  there 
was  Salisbury  Cathedral  with  its  lofty 
spire  the  highest  in  England,  and  Peterbor- 
ough with  its  noble  front;  to  say  nothing 
of  Yorkminster,  the  largest  in  the  King- 
dom; and  of  Canterbury,  the  metropolitan 
church  of  England. 

At  Salisbury  we  were  entertained  at  the 
Episcopal  palace,  for  Dr.  Smithson  had  a 
good  many  friends  among  the  dignitaries 
of  the  Chui'ch,  and  he  and  the  Bishop  were 
graduates  of  the  same  College.  From  the 
windoAV  of  the  dining-room  there  is  an  ex- 
cellent view  of  the  Cathedral,  the  exterior 
of  which  is  the  finest  in  the  Kingdom,  re- 
markable for  its  uniformity,  having  been 
completed  according  to  the  original  design. 
The  central  tower  spire  is  400  feet,  the 
loftiest  in  England,  and  not  excelled  by  any 


Salisbury  Cathedral. 


OF  Revolutioi^ary  Times.         37 

other  in  Europe,  excepting  that  of  Stras- 
bourg. This  grand  spire  is  a  striking  object 
as  you  approach  the  town.  We  first  ob- 
served it  at  a  distance  of  several  miles,  and 
as  the  carriage  rolled  rapidly  towards  the 
town  by  a  circuitous  route,  the  spire  seemed 
to  be  moving  along  in  a  parallel  line,  and 
to  be  keeping  pace  with  us,  whilst  nearer 
objects  seemed  to  be  flying  past  in  the  op- 
posite direction.  The  following  stanza  by 
Dr.  Heylin,  conveys  the  popular  idea  of  the 
vast  extent  of  the  Cathedral :  — 

**  As  many  days  as  in  one  year  there  be, 

So  many  windows  in  this  church  we  see; 

As  many  marble  pillars  here  aj^pear 

As  there  are  hours  throughout  the  fleeting  year: 

As  many  gates  as  moons  one  year  does  view, 

Strange  tale  to  tell,  yet  none  more  strange  than  true." 

But  this  tour  of  ours  through  Rural 
England  would  be  incomplete  without  some 
notice  of  our  very  pleasant  visit  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge,  which  although  not 
a  Cathedral  City,  might  be  considered  the 
climax  of  our  tour  through  Rural  England. 
It  was  Commemoration  or  as  we  call  it  Com- 
mencement  week;    everything,    therefore, 


38  Recollectioxs 

was  to  be  seen  in  gala  dress.  If  there  is 
no  Cathedral  at  Cambridge  there  is  King's 
College  Chapel,  which  rivals  a  Cathedral  in 
extent  and  magnificence.  Built  in  the  time 
of  Henry  VI  it  has  ever  been  considered 
one  of  the  wonders  of  Gothic  architecture. 
The  lofty  vaulted  roof  of  stone  is  consid- 
ered a  miracle  of  beauty  and  art;  rever- 
berating echoes  fill  the  listener  with  awe; 
the  whole  seeming  the  work  of  enchant- 
ment. After  service  we  dined  with  the 
Fellows  of  Clare  Hall  at  the  high  table, 
where  all  the  ancient  state  was  observed. 
After  dinner,  in  company  with  some  of  the 
Fellows,  we  strolled  through  the  unrivalled 
Clare  Walk.  Here  long  avenues  of  lime 
trees  in  full  flower  filled  the  air  with  delicious 
perfume,  and  their  tops  meeting  above 
our  heads  formed  a  sort  of  Gothic  arch  of 
densest  foliage.  Through  these  '  long  drawn 
aisles  and  leafy  vaults'  formed  by  the  inter- 
lacing lindens,  the  air  redolent  with  the 
perfume  of  flovf  ers  as  well  as  vocal  with  the 
note  of  feathered  songsters,  we  passed  an 
agreeable  hour,  listening  to  the  distant 
chimes  of  St.  Mary's  which  ever  and  anon 


OF  Revolutionary  Times. 


39 


stole  upon  the   ear  with  their  enchanting 
melody. 


Cambridge  Chimes : 


1st  Quarter. 


2d    QUAllTER. 


:t==t=p: 


i 


3d  Quarter.  4th  Quarter. 


:se£ 


Tenor  Bell 
FOR  hour. 


dM^kS 


Note.  A  full  chord  should  be  struck  for  the  hour, 
because  a  fine  tenor  bell  when  struck  gives  the  sound  of 
the  chord.  The  first  quarter  is  a  phrase  from  Handel's, 
"  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth."  This  chime  is  also 
in  the  tower  of  Westminster  Palace. 

The  traveller,  however,  must  have  noted  down  the 
chimes  from  recollection,  as  the  melody  following  the  first 
phrase  is  now  different. 

Editor. 


40  Recollections 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"No  hammers  fell,  no  ponderous  axes  rung; 
Like  some  tall  palm  the  mystic  fabric  sprung; 
Majestic  silence! 

Heber:  Palestine. 

"  We  spent  a  long  time  in  the  Valley  of 
the  Wye,  which  seemed  to  us  the  most  pic- 
turesque 23art  of  Rural  England,  admiring 
the  ruins  of  Tintern  Abbey,  Avhich  seen  from 
different  points  of  view  were  extremely  m- 
teresting.  The  ruins  of  this  monastery  is 
said  to  be  the  most  beautiful  in  England, 
not  only  architecturally  but  in  its  surround- 
ings. Indeed,  it  seems  to  have  been  chosen 
by  the  Cistercian  monks  for  the  quiet  and 
repose  which  reigned  then,  as  now,  in  this 
happy  valley.  As  we  wound  along  the 
banks  of  the  river  in  our  open  carriage,  we 
seemed  to  be  enclosed,  amphitheatre-like,  by 
the  hills  of  living  verdure ;  the  way  opening 
before  us  as  we  progressed.  The  day  was 
perfect  so  that  it  seemed  like  traversing  fairy- 
land.    Had  it  been  moonlight  we  should 


TiNTERN  Abbey. 


OF  Eevolutionary  Times.         41 

have  expected  to  have  come  upon  a  troop  of 
elfin  sprites  at  their  midsummer  gambols. 

But,  how  can  I  give  an  adequate  descrip- 
tion of  the  ruins  of  Tintern  ?  The  walls  of 
the  church  are  almost  entire.  The  double 
row  of  columns  (extending  from  west  to 
east)  which  supported  the  arches  of  the  side 
aisles  are  well  preserved,  at  least  on  the 
south  side ;  as  are  also  the  principal  arches 
at  the  intersection  of  the  nave  and  transcept, 
which  support  the  remains  of  the  central 
tower.  You  must  imagine  the  walls  covered 
with  ivy,  hanging  in  graceful  festoons 
across  arches  and  the  tracery  of  mullioned 
windows ;  a  level  floor,  carpeted  with  closely 
shorn  grass;  a  vista  of  columns  extending 
eastward  to  a  chancel  window  of  magnifi- 
cent proportions,  filling  the  whole  end  of 
the  choir;  and  over  all,  the  blue  vault  of 
Heaven;  and  then  you  will  have  something 
like  an  idea  of  Tintern  Abbey. 

We  crossed  the  "Wye  in  a  little  boat,  in 
in  order  to  get  a  good  view  of  the  ruins 
seen  from  the  hill  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  Seen  from  this  elevated  point  of 
view  by  pilgrims  of  other  days,  the  church 


42  Recollections 

with  its  group  of  conventual  buildings,  its 
numerous  gable  towers  and  pinnacles,  sur- 
rounded by  these  verdant  hills  with  the 
river  flowing  gently  by,  must  have  been 
beautifully  picturesque.  Even  in  its  decay 
it  is  an  object  of  interest  that  the  tourist 
would  not  willingly  pass. 

'No  other  Abbey  ruin  in  the  kingdom 
has  probably  attracted  half  the  attention 
that  has  been  bestowed  on  Tintern:  it  is 
altogether  the  most  picturesque  remains  of 
a  monastic  edifice  with  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted. 

An  hour's  drive  brought  us  to  Monmouth, 
the  termination  of  our  day's  journey  and 
of  the  picturesque  scenery  of  the  Wye. 
The  day  could  not  have  been  finer,  and  we 
all  agreed  it  was  the  pleasantest  we  had 
passed  in  England. 

At  Monmouth  we  found,  awaiting  our 
arrival  a  most  excellent  dinner,  to  which  we 
brought  an  equally  excellent  appetite.  It 
was  while  discussing  the  good  things  thus 
set  before  us,  that  we  entered  with  consid- 
erable warmth,  into  a  discussion  of  a 
different   nature.     A   little   elevated   with 


OF  E,evolutio:n^ary  Tuvies.         43 

good  cheer,  I  ventured  to  assert  that  the 
monks  '  long  syne '  were  fond  of  creature 
comforts;  that  they  loved  good  eathig,  and 
that  they  were  by  no  means  averse  to  the 
drinking  of  ^  jolly  good  ale,  and  old.'  The 
parson,  who  saw  the  old  monks  from  a  poet- 
ical point  of  view  as  the  builders  of  the 
stately  pile  of  St.  Mary's,  the  glory  of  the 
Wye,  and  of  Monmouth,  was  not  a  little 
scandalized  at  my  levity,  and  at  once  took 
up  the  cudgels  in  their  defence.  My  appeal 
was  to  history,  his  to  poetry;  and  like  many 
other  disputants,  each  of  the  combatants 
was  maintaining  but  half  a  truth.  The 
monks  who  built  those  stately  piles  like 
Tintern  were  doubtless  pious,  self-denying 
men ;  but  their  successors  in  a  later  age,  en- 
riched and  enfeebled  by  self-indulgence, 
were  of  a  different  character.  At  least  this 
much  we  infer  from  their  pusillanimity  in 
surrendering  their  lands  to  the  spoiler  in  the 
time  of  Henry  YHI.  Had  they,  like  the 
Carthusians  of  the  London  Chartreuse, 
courageously  withstood  their  oppressor, 
their  houses,  like  the  Charter  House  in  Lon- 
don, might  have  been  spared;  and  like  it,  re- 


44 


Recollections 


mained  an  ornament  and  a  blessing  to  the 
land.  This  they  might  have  done  had  the 
charges  against  them  been  false. 


OF   REVOLUTIOlSrAEY   TiMES.  45 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

"  The  fear  o'  hell's,  a  hangman's  whip 
To  hand  the  wretch  in  order;" 

Robert  Burns. 

"  Before  taking  leave  of  Rural  England 
perhaps  I  should  give  you  some  account  of 
our  adventure  with  a  footpad  or  highway- 
man. Our  postilion  discovered  that  one  of 
our  horses  needed  a  shoe.  We  left  him 
therefore  in  a  little  village  to  have  his  horse 
shod,  while  we  walked  on  to  some  ruins 
about  a  mile  beyond  the  blacksmith  shop. 
"We  had  scarcely  reached  the  ruins  before 
we  met  with  a  footpad  ^  proper  and  tall '  who 
presented  a  double  barrel-pistol  with  '  your 
money  or  your  life.'  We  were  totally  un- 
prepared so  the  Doctor  handed  over  his 
watch  and  his  purse  whilst  I  gave  the  rob- 
ber a  handful  of  change  that  I  had  in  my 
pocket.  But  the  Reverend  Doctor  gave  him 
something  worth  more  than  all :  he  ventured 
to  expostulate  with  him  on  the  sin  that  he 


46  Recollections 

was  committing.  The  exhortation  had  an 
astonishing  effect,  for  the  highwayman  was 
moved  to  tears.  He  declared  he  had  been 
bronglit  lip  by  a  pious  mother,  who  had 
taught  him  his  catechism;  and  had  betaken 
her  good  advice  he  would  not  have  been  a 
ruined  man  or  have  taken  to  the  road.  '  Re- 
pent then/  said  the  Doctor,  'let  him  that  stole 
steal  no  more.'  '  That  is  not  so  easily  done 
as  said;  I  will  however  give  back  what  I 
have  taken,  for  I  will  not  rob  the  Church 
for  that  would  be  to  add  sacrilege  to  my 
other  sins.'  Just  then  we  heard  the  wheels 
of  the  carriage  coming  in  the  distance. 
The  footpad  hastily  gave  back  what  he 
had  taken  and  was  running  away  when  the 
Doctor  called  out  ^come  to  the  inn  to-night; 
I  will  not  betray  you,  but  will  help  you  to 
turn  over  a  new  leaf.'  The  footpad  disap- 
j)eared  and  we  drove  on.  That  evening 
the  man  called  and  he  and  Dr.  Smithson 
were  closeted  together  for  a  long  time.  I 
heard  nothing  about  their  conference  till 
towards  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
after  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Saratoga  had 
reached  us;  Avhen  the  Doctor  told  me  that 


OF  Eevolutioxaky  Times.         47 

the  poor  man  had  been  among  those  who 
were  killed;  for  soon  after  our  adventure 
he  had  enlisted  and  had  been  sent  with 
his  regiment  to  America,  where  in  conse- 
quence of  good  behaviour  he  soon  rose  to  be 
a  Sergeant.  That  night  he  was  closeted  with 
the  Doctor  at  the  village  inn.  He  confessed 
that  his  ruin  was  due  to  a  disap2)ointment; 
that  a  girl,  to  whom  he  had  been  engaged, 
had  jilted  him  and  that  he  had  taken  to  the 
tavern  and  the  gaming  house,  where  his 
patrimony  had  been  wasted,  for  he  was  but 
a  younger  son  and  his  elder  brother  had 
disowned  him.  '  So  you  see,'  said  cousin 
Jack,  'that  you  girls  must  be  true  and  just 
in  all  your  dealings,  and  remember  that  you 
can  not  trifle  with  a  man  without  risking 
his  ruin.'  Then  little  Mary  said  '  but  they 
say  a  girl  can  change  her  mind.'  '^Certainly 
not '  said  cousin  Jack  '  if  she  has  made  a 
solemn  engagement  with  her  parents'  con- 
sent.' 


48  Eecollectioxs 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

"  I  here  forget  all  former  griefs, 

Cancel  all  grudge,  repeal  thee  home  again." 

Shakesj^eare. 

After  a  substantial  supper  cousin  Jack 
continued : 

"  Soon  after  our  arrival  in  England  my 
very  good  friend  and  patron  died,  leaving 
me  a  handsome  bequest,  and  I  returned 
to  my  native  country  as  agent  for  a  manu- 
facturing firm  in  Yorkshire;  consequently  I 
passed  for  an  Englishman  in  the  city  of 
^ew  York,  especially  as  I  made  the  journey 
to  England  more  than  once  recalled  by  my 
employers.  I  was  very  much  shocked  to 
find  the  town  in  such  a  state  of  dilapidation. 
However  the  location  of  Manhattan  Island 
was  so  very  favorable  for  commercial  pur- 
poses that  I  did  not  hesitate  to  invest  all 
my  available  funds  in  real  estate,  which 
would  I  imagined  speedily  advance  in  value." 
Here  little  Mary  explained,"They  say,  cousin 


OF  Eevolutionary  Times.         49 

Jack,  that  you  were  not  mistaken,  and  that 
these  purchases  have  made  you  a  rich  man." 
"  Yes  indeed,"  said  he,  "  the  investment  has 
turned  out  to  be  much  more  valuable  than 
the  most  sanguine  could  have  expected." 

Here  little  Mary  interrupted  him.  ''  Why 
is  it  that  you  allowed  the  people  to  take  you 
for  an  Eno^lishman?"  "  Because  I  thousfht 
it  23rudent ;  for  the  old  Tories  had  been  to  a 
great  extent  banished  to  Xova  Scotia, 
expelled  by  the  laws  of  attainder.  These 
cruel  laws  of  attainder  our  countrymen 
were  soon  very  heartily  ashamed  of,  for  ac- 
cording to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  such  laws  have  now  been  made  im- 
possible. Indeed  these  laws  had  expelled 
from  the  country  some  of  the  best  people 
who  were  conscientiously  opposed  to  taking 
up  arms  against  the  King,  for  Ave  were 
taught  in  the  Church  catechism  that  the 
first  duty  towards  one's  neighbor  was  to 
honor  and  to  obey  the  King.  However  these 
emigrants  do  not  seem  to  have  been  unhappy 
in  the  new  country  to  which  they  had  been 
banished.  I  have  seen  letters  from  those 
expelled   from  their  native  land  by  these 


50  Recollections 

laws  of  attainder,  but  they  showed  no  ill  will 
towards  their  fellow  countrymen,  who  had 
banished  them  from  their  homes.  Some  of 
them  who  held  commissions  in  the  British 
army  were  surprised  at  the  turn  affairs  had 
taken  and  to  the  last  hoped  for  a  peaceful 
solution  of  the  troubles  of  the  times,  their 
military  duty  was  discharged  with  reluc- 
tance, and  had  it  not  been  for  the  interference 
of  one  of  them  this  house  would  have  been 
burnt.  Your  grandparents  with  their 
young  children  had  betaken  themselves  to 
Clapboard  Hill  for  safety  when  Gov.  Tryon 
from  lSe^Y  York  captured  ^N'orwalk  in  1779. 
A  soldier  was  about  to  set  fire  to  the  house, 
when  the  Governor,  happening  to  hear  a 
bystander  say  that  the  owner  of  the  house 
was  a  good  friend  to  the  King,  called  out 
to  him  to  forebear.  That  bystander  with 
her  husband  and  children  were  among  those 
banished  to  ]N^ova  Scotia.  Indeed  I  have 
but  recently  seen  letters  written  by  her  to 
her  kindred  in  Connecticut."  Here  little 
Mary  who  had  been  listening  very  attentively 
explained,  "  They  say,  cousin,  you  were  a 
great  beau  in  your  youthful  days,  and  that 


OF  ReyolutioxapvY  Times.         51 

you  were  once  engaged  to  a  beautiful  and 
accomplished  young  lady."  Here  the  old 
bachelor  poked  the  fire,  which  by  this  time 
was  burning  low,  observing  the  while  to  the 
children,  "  You  should  know  the  '  course  of 
true  love  never  does  run  smooth;'  and,  as 
you  may  have  heard  an  exaggerated  ac- 
count of  the  afiair,  I  might  as  well  tell  you 
the  truth,  especially  as  it  may  prove  a  warn- 
ing to  you  all.  AYell,  then,  in  the  first  place 
you  must  not  believe  everything  you  hear, 
and  not  come  to  a  hasty  conclusion  in  mat- 
ters of  importance;  but  patiently  inquire 
and  well  weigh  testimony;  but  as  it  waxes 
late  I  had  better  defer  my  story  for  another 
evenings  Fi'om  the  appearance  of  the  yule- 
log  I  think  it  may  hold  out  for  another 
nio'ht.'' 


52  Recollections 


CHAPTEE  X. 

"  There  let  the  pealing  organ  blow 

To  the  full  voiced  choir  below, 

In  service  high  and  anthems  clear, 

As  may,  with  sweetness  through  mine  ear, 

Dissolve  me  into  ecstasies. 

And  bring  all  heav'n  before  mine  eves." 

Milton. 

The  children  were  assembled  around  the 
brightly  burning  yule-log  when  their  cousin 
entered  and  continued  his  story.  "  I  have 
been  an  extensive  traveller  in  my  time,  for 
my  reverend  patron  took  me  with  him  not 
only  all  over  Great  Britain  but  as  I  told  you 
last  night  even  to  the  Continent,  where  I 
discovered  in  the  Rhineland  some  distant 
relation  of  ours,  who  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury had  lived  within  sight  of  the  lofty  spire 
of  Strasbourg  Cathedral. 

After  the  death  of  my  benefactor  and  the 
conclusion  of  the  war  I  returned  to  my  na- 
tive country,  where  I  speedily  found  em- 
ployment as  organist  and  musical  director 


OF  Revolutionary  Times.         53 

in  a  country  church  in  Westchester  County; 
but  as  my  widowed  mother  hved  in  Fair- 
field County  not  very  far  from  Five  Mile 
River,  I  remained  with  her  at  home,  going 
over  once  or  twice  a  week  to  the  church, 
the  Rector  of  which  had  remained  at  his 
post  all  through  the  war.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
Holyoake  and  I  were  on  the  best  of  terms, 
and  he  often  said  that  he  wished  me  to 
make  the  musical  service  as  attractive  as 
230ssible,  and  as  the  most  influential  mem- 
bers had  belonged  to  the  Church  before  the 
Revolutionary  War,  they  did  not  object  to 
the  musical  usages  authorized  by  the 
Church  of  England.  Therefore,  Chants, 
Anthems,  and  musical  responses  were  not 
objectionable  to  them,  besides  there  was 
dwelling  in  an  old  house  that  had  been 
Washington's  Headquarters  a  gentleman, 
who  not  only  sang,  but  was  liberal  in  his 
support  of  the  music  of  the  Church.  There 
was  also  among  the  Rector's  parishioners, 
a  good  lady  who  had  collected  the  poor 
girls  of  the  neighborhood  in  a  little  school, 
in  which  I  was  employed  as  musical  in- 
structor.    These  together  with  some  gentle- 


54  Recollections 

men  who  had  cultivated  a  taste  for  musicj 
made  a  respectable  choir.  Dr.  H.  informed 
me  that  the  seminary  had  originated  in  a 
Saturday  Sewing-school  begun  many  years 
ago  by  the  mother-in-law  of  its  present 
patroness,  who  thought  that  the  proximity 
of  the  village  to  a  growing  metropolis,  made 
the  education  of  girls  a  matter  of  great 
importance  to  the  Church  and  community. 
'The  founder  of  the  Sewing-school,'  said  he, 
'has  long  since  gone  to  receive  the  reward 
of  those  who  diligently  improve  the  talent 
entrusted  to  them  and  are  faithful  unto 
death.'  Her  name  will  ever  be  held  in  grate- 
ful remembrance  by  all  who  knew  her. 
The  widow  and  the  orphan,  the  poor  and 
the  afflicted  to  whom  it  was  her  delight  to 
minister  will,  as  memory  recalls  to  them  her 
numberless  acts  of  charity  and  mercy,  '  rise 
up  and  call  her  blessed.'  A  few  days  be- 
fore her  death,  she  said  to  her  daughter-in- 
law,  'What  will  my  poor  children  do  when 
I  am  gone?'  The  reply  was,  'I  will  en- 
deavor to  supply  your  place  to  the  best  of 
my  ability.'  It  was  soon  turned  into  a  day 
school  and  competent   teachers  employed. 


OF  Revolutioxaky  Times.         55 

A  schoolhouse  was  built  in  proximity  to 
the  church,  and  the  children  in  their  bril- 
liant uniform  might  be  seen  on  Sundays  and 
other  Holy  Days,  singing  in  procession  as 
they  entered  the  sanctuary  and  looking  like 
so  many  '  Red  Hiding-hoods,'  as  some  one 
of  l!^evv  York  City  described  them.  How- 
ever, unlike  the  '  Red  Riding-hoods,'  they 
have  been  very  well  protected  from  the  at- 
tacks of  the  '  Werwolves.' 

As  I  resided  with  my  mother  in  the  neigh- 
boring State  of  Connecticut,  I  was  obliged 
to  drive  over  on  Saturday  and  Sunday,  al- 
though it  was  more  than  a  Sabbath  day's 
journey;  but  a  musical  young  lady,  a  neigh- 
bor of  ours,  drove  over  with  me,  attracted 
doubtless  by  our  Church  music,  and,  possi- 
bly, by  the  accounts  I  gave  of  the  glory  of 
'  Old  England,'  which  usually  formed  the 
topic  of  conversation;  although  we  occa- 
sionally spoke  of  more  personal  matters  for 
I  discovered  that  we  were  both  descendants 
of  Captain  John  Mason  of  Pequot  War  cel- 
ebrity. For  you  should  know,  children, 
that  our  ancestor,  Jakim  Bouton,  married  a 
grand-daughter  of  the  wai'like  Captain  from 


56  Recollectio^^s 

whom  we  all  are  descended.  By  the  way,  a 
cousin  of  ours  living  in  Westchester  County 
had  grown  rich  since  the  Revolutionary  War 
in  consequence  of  the  great  rise  in  real  estate, 
and  being  a  churchman,  had  rebuilt  the  old 
church  in  Whiteplains  at  his  own  expense. 
Therefore  Dr.  Holyoake  and  I  were  allowed 
to  have  our  own  way  about  all  matters  of 
ritual  propriety,  the  Doctor  frequently  ob- 
serving that  he  saw  no  essential  difference 
in  the  rubrics  of  the  new  American  Prayer 
Book  and  the  old  Pi-ayer  Book  of  the 
Church  of  England.  We  therefore  by  de- 
grees introduced  the  full  Choral  Service  of 
the  English  Cathedrals,  and  as  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  represeuted  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people,  we  could  see  no 
reason  for  altering  the  Versicles;  for  dur- 
ing his  term  of  office,  our  President  is  really 
as  much  King  as  any  King  of  England. 
In  spite,  therefore,  of  the  '  skinners '  the 
good  Doctor  continued  to  pray  for  the  King 
in  the  Versicles  singing  out  in  a  ffiie  tenor, 
'  O  Lord  save  the  King,'  which,  doubtless, 
was  soothing  to  the  feelings  of  certain  old 
ladies  in  the  congregation,  who  were  un- 


OF  Eevolutioxary  Times.         57 

willing  to  part  with  King  George,  although 
it  was  logically  demonstrated  to  them  by 
our  Jacobitical  parson,  that  King  George 
Washington,  was  as  good  as  any  King 
George  of  the  House  of  Hanover.  How- 
ever, as  Dr.  Holyoake  was  a  very  benevo- 
lent man  and  had  been  equally  kind  during 
the  Revolution  both  to  '  cow-boys '  and '  skin- 
ners '  the  most  intelligent  part  of  the  con- 
gregation thought  he  was  quite  right. 

]N^ow  that  the  war  was  over,  and  Ave  be- 
gan to  be  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  our  old 
fellow-subjects  of  Great  Britain,  I  do  not 
see  why  all  should  not  take  a  cool,  dispas- 
sionate view  of  public  affairs;  for  it  is  but 
reasonable  to  allow,  that  we  Colonists  had 
as  good  a  right  to  rebel  against  admitted 
tyrannical  acts  of  Parliament,  as  Parliament 
ever  had  against  tyrannical  acts  of  the 
Crown,  which  has  often  been  done,  especially 
in  the  Revolution  of  1688;  moreover,  old 
England  in  parting,  bestowed  upon  us  the 
blessing  of  the  Episcopate  connecting  us 
with  the  see  of  Canterbury  and  the  Church 
of  the  Fathers. 

As  this   is  the  festival  of  St.  John  the 


58  Hecollectioxs 

Divine,  it  naturally  recalls  to  us  that  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist's,  which  occurs  at  mid-sum- 
mer. These  festivals  symbolize  the  Light 
of  the  World,  the  one  being  the  precursor 
of  the  other,  even  as  the  Baptist  was  the 
the  forerunner  of  He  who  was  born  at  this 
season  the  "  Son  of  Righteousness."  You 
should  recollect  this  truth,  children,  which 
in  our  merriment  is  too  apt  to  be  forgotten. 
Our  rector.  Dr.  Holyoake  of  Whiteplains 
often  reminded  us  of  this. 

By  the  way,  he  had  been  before  the  Revo- 
lutionary War  a  missionary  of  the  S.  P.  G., 
and  a  Tory  in  politics.  He  stuck  faithfully 
to  his  post,  and  always  endeavored  to  miti- 
gate the  fury  of  the  combatants,  and  was 
especially  successful  in  restraining  the  ex- 
cesses of  the  '  cow-boys.'  Major  Waring,  a 
distant  relative  of  ours,  was  one  of  his 
Church-wardens  and  made  himself  very 
useful  in  the  same  benevolent  cause  after 
the  war,  by  rebuikling^the  church  burnt  in 
the  contest.  The  Major  was  not  in  sympathy 
with  the  Tories,  although  a  good  churchman. 
He  had  a  handsome  house  with  grounds 
about  it.    The  building  was  j)artly  of  stone 


OF  Revolutioxaky  Times.         59 

like  this;  a  long  low  baildiiig  about  two  sto- 
ries in  height  with  projecting  wings,  the 
space  betAveen  which  was  filled  with  a  broad 
piazza  enclosed  with  sashes  and  shutters  in 
the  winter.  I  have  been  thus  particular  in 
describing  the  place,  as  the  Major  not  only 
at  Christmas-time  invited  the  school  children 
to  his  house  but  on  mid-summer  or  St.  John's 
Eve,  when  strawberries  and  whipped  cream 
were  served  at  the  tables  on  the  lawn  under 
the  old  trees  opposite  the  flower  garden ;  or  if 
the  weather  was  bad,  the  tables  were  set  on 
the  broad  piazza,  which  with  the  adjoining 
hall  was  amply  suflScient  for  their  accommo- 
dation. 

Here  also  at  Christmas  were  served  the 
roast  beef  and  plum  pudding  of  old  Eng- 
land; for  my  benevolent  kinsman  did  not 
think  there  was  any  patriotic  reason  for 
quarreling  with  these  good  things,  which 
with  mince  pie  were  a  part  of  our  com- 
mon heritage.  The  custom  of  hanging 
up  the  stocking  was  also  here  religiously 
observed.  The  Dutch  San  Clans,  the  patron 
saint  of  the  children,  was  likewise  held  in 
high  reverence,  but  the  superstition  referred 


60  Recollectio^^s 

to  in  Shakespeare's  Mid-summer  IS^ight's 
Dream  seems  never  to  have  taken  any  hold 
on  popular  imagination.  Young  men  and 
maidens  did  not  find  any  difficulty  in  becom- 
ing acquainted  with  each  other,  without 
resorting  to  mid-summer  magic  of  the  old 
world,  at  least,  until  they  were  instructed. 
But  the  girls  soon  learned  to  sow  hemp-seed. 

'  Hemp-seed  I  sow,  hemp-seed  I  hoe,  and 
he  that  is  my  true  love,  come  after  me  and 
mow.' 

Some  of  the  girls  had  a  similar  experi- 
ence to  that  of  the  famous  Mrs.  Blossom, 
who  said  '  I  sowed  hemp -seed  in  our  back 
yard  and  would  you  believe  it,  I  looked 
back  and  saw  Mr.  Blossom  as  plain  as  eyes 
could  see  him.' 


OF  Hevolutionary  Times.         61 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

"Thanks  to  my  stars,  I  have  not  ranged  about 
The  wilds  of  life  ere  I  could  find  a  friend." 

Addison. 

"Miss  Mollie  Mason  and  I  sometimes 
joined  the  clam-bakes,  which  in  old  times, 
as  well  as  now,  were  held  on  Rohaton  Point 
where  in  ancient  times,  as  tradition  tells  ns, 
there  was  a  favorite  ground  for  Indian  pow- 
pows,  later  for  '  Witches  '  Sabbath.' 

Strange  stories  were  told  of  this  road 
for  it  was  known  as  Witches'  Lane,  and 
there  were  few  young  people  in  those 
days  that  would  venture  in  it  after  night- 
fall. At  Miss  Mollie's  suggestion  we 
paused  one  day  at  the  cabin  of  an  old  negro, 
( the  only  house  on  the  lane,  )  who  had  the 
reputation  of  being  the  historian  of  the 
Country,  to  inquire  into  its  weird  history ; 
for  such  we  inferred  it  was,  as  in  the  days 
of  Salem  Witchcraft,  Pohaton  Point  had 
the  reputation  of  being  a  diabolical  camp- 


62  Kecollectiono 

ing  ground  where  many  a  '  Witches'  Sab- 
bath'was  held.  At  Miss  Mason's  sugges- 
tion, Old  Toney,  as  the  negro  was  called, 
was  questioned. 

He  was  seated  in  front  of  his  cabin,  bask- 
ing in  the  sunshine,  which  he  seemed  greatly 
to  enjoy.  He  was  very  black,  with  a  head 
of  white  hair,  and  people  said  he  was  a  hun- 
dred years  old.  'I  have  lived  here,'  said 
he,  'ever  since  the  days  of  good  Queen  Anne ; 
and  your  Grandfather,  Jakim,  gave  me  this 
cabin  and  my  freedom.'  But  I  will  give 
you  old  Toney 's  story. 

'  You  see,  Massa  Jack,  this  Guinea  nig- 
ger had  been  one  day  waiting  at  a  clam- 
bake and  he  was  asleep  under  that  old  tree 
you  see  yonder  ( pointing  to  a  venerable 
chestnut-tree) .  This  here  nigger  had  been 
making  punch  for  the  young  folks,  who 
were  very  merry,  and  when  he  awoke  he 
did  hear  a  ramping  and  a  roaring;  and  com- 
ing down  the  lane  was  a  monstrous  he-goat, 
and  on  his  long  back  were  riding  astride 
more  witches  than  this  here  nigger  could 
count,  all  of  them  shouting  as  the  goat 
galloped  along,  until  they  jumped  into  the 


OF  Revolutionary  Times.         63 

Sound.  The  wind  was  blowing  and  the 
Sound  was  rough.  When  I  told  what  I 
had  seen  to  Massa,  he  laughed,  and  said  I 
had  been  drunk  or  dreaming.  But  homso- 
ever  other  folks  said  this  nigger  had  seen 
the  debbil,  who  had  taken  the  shape  of  a 
goat  and  was  giving  the  witches  a  ride. 

But  the  witches  were  not  drowned  for 
they  were  afterwards  seen.  This  nigger 
has  often  seen  them  in  the  clouds  after  a 
thunderstorm,  riding  on  broomsticks,  for  you 
know  water  won't  drown  witches.  Anv- 
how,  this  road  has  ever  since  been  known 
as,' Witches'  Lane.'  'And  the  debbil  has  been 
seen  here  by  white  gemmen  too,  as  well  as 
by  this  here  nigger.'  'How  is  that?'  said 
I,  beginning  to  be  interested  in  the  account 
of  the  neighborhood.  '  Well  you  see,  Massa 
Jack,  once  in  old  times,  there  was  a  great 
CajJtain  Kidd,  who  was  a  pirate,  and  people 
do  say  that  before  he  was  hung  in  London 
he  did  bury  many  chests  of  gold  and  silver 
some  where  in  Connecticut. 

IS^ow  one  day  there  came  from  ]N^ew  York, 
money-diggers,  and  at  midnight  when  every- 
thing was  still  and  quiet,  they  did  dig  for  the 


64  KeCOL  LECTIONS 

gold  and  silver  on  the  spot  where  a  learned 
doctor,  they  did  bring  with  them,  told  them 
that  he  had  a  wonderful  divining  rod,  which 
always  pointed  to  the  place  where  the  money 
was  hid.  They  dug  and  struck  something, 
Avhen  one  of  them  swore  and  cried  out 
"  we've  got  it,"  when  suddenly  they  heard  a 
fiddling  and  a  ramping  and  roaring  which 
made  them  drop  their  tools  and  take  to 
their  heels.  As  the  money-diggers  were 
scrambling  along  one  of  them  looked  be- 
hind and  saw  the  Evil  One  mounted  on  a 
bull,  which  as  they  passed  the  burying 
ground  suddenly  vanished  with  a  flash  and 
an  explosion  that  shook  the  ground. ' 
'  But,  uncle  Toney,  what  became  of  the  trea- 
sure?' '  The  next  morning  the  money-dig- 
gers came  to  look  for  it,  but  they  could 
find  nothing  besides  pick  and  shovels,  ex- 
cept an  empty  hogshead  in  the  bushes  or 
close  by  the  hole  they  had  been  digging, 
for  the  debbil  and  his  imps  had  carried  off 
all  the  gold  and  silver ;  not  one  farthing  had 
they  left  in  the  hogshead.  A  cracked  fid- 
dle they  did  find,  which  you  can  see  in  the 
garret  of  the  old  farm  house.     Some  do  say 


OF  Revolutioxaky  Times.         65 

that  the  sph'it  that  watched  over  the  trea- 
sure must  have  been  on  the  farmer's  bull, 
which  had  gotten  loose  from  the  stable 
hard  by.'  '  But,  old  Toney '  said  I '  what  do 
you  think?'  '  O  Massa  Jack,  it  was  the 
horned  debbil  hisself.  We  could  see  the 
prints  of  the  hoofs  as  he  galloped  through 
the  lane.'  Our  old  bull  was  very  wild,  but  I 
never  heard  that  he  breathed  fire  and  smoke ; 
however,  he  did  not  disappear  with  the  gob- 
lin in  a  flash  of  fire,  for  he  was  found  after- 
wards more  than  a  mile  away  from  his 
pasture. 

'What  became  of  the  empty  hogshead?' 
'I  had  it  broken  for  fire  wood'  said  old  Toney, 
'  and  it  did  smell  of  brimstone,  showing  that 
the  debbil  had  been  in  it.'  As  we  drove 
along  I  said  to  Miss  Mason, '  what  would  you 
say  if  I  were  to  tell  you  that  I  was  in  that 
hogshead  and  that  fiddle  was  mine?'  'I 
have  always  heard  that  Satan  Avas  power- 
ful in  these  parts,  but  I  never  heard  that 
you  were  one  of  his  imps,  but  I  must  be  on 
my  guard  and  beware.'  '  You  see,'  said  I 
Sveboys  of  the  neighborhood  had  heard  of 
the  advent  of  the  money-diggers  and  we 


66 


Recollections 


determined  to  play  a  trick  on  them,  and  I 
being  not  only  the  youngest  but  the  small- 
est was  packed  into  the  hogshead  with  the 
fiddle  and  the  conch-shell.  All  the  rest  of 
old  Toney's  story  is  but  an  exaggeration;  a 
fiction  founded  on  fact.' 


OF  Revolutionary  Times.         67 


CHAPTER  XII. 

"His  calm  and  blameless  life 
Does  with  substantial  blessedness  abound, 
And  the  soft  wings  of  peace  cover  him  round." 

Cowley. 

"  Miss  MoUie  Mason  lived  with  her  maiden 
aunt  in  a  square  frame  house  very  much  in 
the  style  of  the  old  fashioned  house  of  Queen 
Anne's  time ;  that  is  to  say  a  two-story  build- 
ing with  the  chimney  in  the  middle. 

There  was  a  square  room  each  side  of  the 
entrance  hall ;  one  of  which  was  used  for  a 
dining  room,  the  other  for  a  parlor  in  which 
stood  Miss  Mollie's  piano  and  a  sofa.  This 
apartment  Miss  Mollie  and  I  were  allowed 
to  have  entirely  to  ourselves.  It  was  on 
our  return  from  the  drive  just  mentioned, 
that  I  managed  to  get  possession  of  a  valu- 
able ring,  which  she  usually  took  off  when 
playing  the  piano.  I  had  often  tried  to  get 
it  from  her,  but  it  was  not  until  I  told  her 
of  my  adventure  with  the  money-diggers 


68  Kecollectioxs 

and  how  it  was  that  I  was  mounted  on  the 
bull,  w^ho,  histead  of  disappearing  in  a  flash 
of  fire,  had  deposited  me  in  a  mud  puddle; 
whilst  the  infuriated  beast,  alarmed  by  the 
discharge  of  a  musket,  which  one  of  our 
roistering  party  had  fired,  sheered  ofi" 
through  an  open  gate,  and  disappeared  in- 
stantly from  the  view  of  the  frightened 
money-diggers. 

Moved  by  compassion  at  the  sad  pickle 
I  must  have  been  in.  Miss  Mollie  yielded  to 
my  entreaties  and  promised  me  the  ring, 
especially  as  I  had  gallantly  promised  one 
in  return,  which  was  to  be  a  ring  on  which 
was  to  be  the  arms  of  the  Boughton's  of 
Burgandy  '  gules  a  la  fasce  cVor^ '  for  Miss 
Mollie  said  she  Avould  like  to  have  something 
that  w^ould  remind  her  of  the  gallant  knight 
who  boldly  charged  the  money-diggers,  on 
the  back  of  a  wild  bull. 

As  the  jeweller  took  some  time  to  exe- 
cute my  order,  the  ring  was  not  presented 
until  the  eve  of  i^^ew  Year's  day.  It  was 
not  enameled,  rubies  being  used.  We  were 
seated  on  the  sofa  I  mentioned  when  I  placed 
the  ring  on  her  finger,  making  a  little  speech 


OF  Eevolutioxaky  Times.         69 

on  the  occasion,  hnmbly  declaring  that  were 
I  worthy  of  so  fair  a  hand  ( the  smallest  I 
had  ever  seen  )  I  should  have  offered  my- 
self, and  all  my  worldly  goods,  into  the  bar- 
gain, for  her  acceptance.  The  young  lady 
declared,  I  was  underating  myself,  at  Avhich 
I  put  my  arm  around  her  waist  and  said  — 
'  Would  you,  MoUie?'  to  which  she  modestly 
replied:  ^I  fear  my  aunt  would  object.' 
'But  if  she  did  not,  what  then?  The  response 
was,  as  might  have  been  expected  under 
the  circumstances,  one  little  word  of  only 
three  letters  and  that  was,  '  Yes.' 

Her  maiden  aunt  and  all  her  near  rela- 
tions approved  of  the  match;  nevertheless, 
it  was  broken  off,  and  the  ring  was  returned 
to  the  donor.  Plere  little  Mary  observed, 
'What  became  of  the  ring?'  'Why,'  said 
uncle  Jack  '  I  very  foolishly  threw  it  away, 
thinking  it  must  be  bewitched'.  The  promise 
having  been  made  in  Witches'  Lane,  it  might 
be  found  if  anyone  was  to  fish  for  it  off 
Rohaton  Point.  However,  as  for  the  ring 
she  gave  me  I  have  never  had  a  proper  op- 
portunity of  returning  it.  It  was  an  opal,  to 
be  sure,  and  is  considered,  I  believe,  an  un- 


70  Recollections 

lucky  stone  but  it  has  proved  to  be  a  sort 
of  talisman.' 

Here  little  Mary  interrupted,  '  and  what 
became  of  the  young  lady?'  O,  she  ran 
away  with  a  dancing  master  who  had  been 
a  count  in  his  own  country  before  the  French 
Revolution,  preferring  a  lively  young  man 
to  an  old  bachelor.  This  hasty  step,  as  the 
elopement  might  be  called  would  perhaps, 
have  never  taken  place  had  not  her  next 
door  neighbor,  Deacon  Doolittle  ( who 
loved  to  have  a  finger  in  every  pie  )  sug- 
gested the  idea  that  a  family  of  Cyclops 
would  be  the  result  of  the  union  with  your 
uncle  Jack.  However  the  match  turned 
out  much  better  than  could  be  expected,  for 
the  First  Consul  recalled  the  ancient  nobil- 
ity of  France,  and  I  have  since  had  the 
pleasure  of  visiting  the  Count  and  Countess 
in  their  stately  Chateau  in  Normandy. 

The  Deacon  had  been  perhaps  very  much 
scandalized  at  our  Choral  services  in  the 
neighboring  village  of  White  Plains,  which 
was  considered  worse  than  witch-craft  itself. 
However,  but  for  this  interference  I  should 
not   have   been   able   to    contribute  to  the 


OF  Revolutiojs-aky  Times.         71 

Church  choir,  and  I  trust  that  some  one  will 
be  raised  up  to  be  a  comfort  and  a  consola- 
tion and  to  be  even  unto  me  as  a  daughter. 
But  the  Deacon's  reasoning  seems  to  have 
been  that  of  the  Jesuits — that  is  that  the  end 
justifies  the  means —  and  not  the  Gospel  rule, 
to  do  unto  others  as  we  should  be  done  by. 
And  now,  as  the  yule-log  is  nearly  burnt, 
we  will,  therefore,  save  the  brand  for  next 
year's  burning. 

"Kindle  the  Christmas  brand,  and  then, 

Till  sunset  let  it  burne, 
Which  quenched,  then  lay  it  up  ageu, 

Till  Christmas  next  returne." 
"  Part  must  be  kept,  wherewith  to  teend 

The  Christmas  log  next  yeare; 
And  where  it  is  safely  kept,  the  fiend 

Can  do  no  mischief  there." 

I  quote  these  words  of  old  Herrick,  for  I 
must  be  off  to-morrow  to  my  new  home, 
Troy,  ^.  Y.,  at  the  head  of  navigation  on 
the  Hudson,  where  we  keep  Christmas 
according  to  Dutch  tradition ;  when  assem- 
bling around  the  Christmas  tree,  under  the 
patronage  of  the  good  St.  ISTicholas,  the 
protecting  genius  of  their  ancestors," 


T2  Recollections 

A  REU^ION^. 

Behold,  how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren 
to  dwell  together  in  unity.  —  Psalm  cxxxiii:   1. 


It  happened  that  at  the  Church  revival  conse- 
quent on  the  appearance  of  the  celebrated  Oxford 
Tracts  it  occurred  to  English  Churchmen  that  their 
forefathers  had  been  illiberal  in  forbidding  native 
American  clergymen  Episcopally  ordained  to  offici- 
ate in  their  churches.  They  therefore  persuaded 
Parliament  to  modify  the  prohibitory  law  so  that 
Episcopally  ordained  clergymen  might  preach  in 
English  pulpits.  On  the  passage  of  the  act  an 
American  Prelate  of  distinction,  the  Kt.  Kev.  G. 
Washington  Doane,  Bishop  of  New  Jersey,  was  im- 
mediately invited  to  deliver  the  sermon  at  the 
consecration  of  the  new  parish  church  of  Leeds,  of 
which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hook  was  the  Vicar.  As  this 
church  was  remarkable  for  its  extent  and  archi- 
tectural grandeur  it  was  hoped  that  it  would  prove 
to  be  a  memorable  event  in  the  history  of  the  An- 
glican communion. 

As  the  Editor  and  his  brother  were  particular 
friends  of  the  Bishop  chosen  for  this  purpose,  they 
were  invited  to  be  of  the  party.  The  church  was 
consecrated  on  September  2nd,  1841,  and  the  sermon 
was  preached  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  a  congre- 
gation of  four  thousand  people.  The  sermon  being 
on  the  text  "And  the  Lord  blessed  the  house  of  Obed- 


Leeds  Church. 


OF  Revolutioi^ary  Times.         73 

edom  and  all  that  he  had."  (I  Chron.  xiii:  14.)  Four 
hundred  of  the  English  clergy  were  in  the  procession, 
(including  the  Archbishop  of  York),  and  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  solemn  service  a  peal  of  twelve  bells 
rang  out,  filling  the  air  with  a  joyful  clamor,  seem- 
ing to  say  as  at  Christmas,  "  Peace  on  earth,  good 
will  towards  men  ;''  and  as  if  the  peal  was  proclaim- 
ing the  reunion  of  the  two  great  branches  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  after  a  century  of  misunderstand- 
ing, doubts,  and  difficulties  ;  declaring  that  Revolu- 
tionary strife  was  at  an  end.  The  Rev.  Yicar,  the 
late  Dr.  Hook,  was  kind  enough  to  invite  the  editor 
to  a  rehearsal  of  the  Choral  Service  which  for  the 
first  time  was  to  be  performed  in  an  English  par- 
ish church. 

It  had  been  his  life  dream  that  he  might  some 
day  or  other  hear  the  English  Cathedral  service. 
As  he  listened  to  the  choir  of  the  Parish  Church  of 
Leeds,  drilled  by  a  choir  master  from  St.  George's, 
Windsor,  the  thought  occurred  to  him,  if  this  could 
be  so  w^ell  done  in  an  English  parish  church,  why 
not  in  an  American  church,  and  if  we  had  no  Cathe- 
drals why  would  not  this  be  the  way  to  produce 
them?  For  as  the  architectural  grandeur  of  the  Ca- 
thedrals, by  a  species  of  enchantment,  seem  to  pro- 
duce the  Choral  Service,  for  without  it  the  very 
stones  would  cry  out  against  the  worshippers,  so 
might  the  Choral  Service  in  time  produce  Cathedrals. 

In  the  following  year  the  experiment  was  tried 
in  St.  Paul's  Church,  Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  curious 
enough,  a  tenor   singer   from  St.  George's  Church, 


74  Recollections 

Windsor,  assisted  at  the  first  choral  service  at  the 
Sunday  School  celebration  on  Easter  day  of  that 
year,  and  from  that  day  forward,  the  choral  ser- 
vice progressed  until  it  is  to  be  found  all  over  the 
United  States,  and  the  Cathedrals  are  coming,  as 
all  must  allow  who  have  studied  the  glorious  j^lan 
of  All  Saints'  Cathedral,  Albany.  May  this  ad- 
vance in  ritual  splendor  be  something  more  than  a 
marching  and  counter-marching,  copes,  and  candle- 
sticks—  for  it  is  "  righteousness  that  exalteth  the 
nation." 

A  solemn  ritual  undoubtedly  has  its  j)ious  usages, 
but  we  must  not  substitute  the  means  for  the  ends. 
St.  Paul  applies  the  true  principle  when  he  writes 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians:  "  I  will  pray 
with  the  spirit,  and  I  will  pray  with  the  under- 
standing also;  I  will  sing  with  the  spirit,  and  I  will 
sing  with  the  understanding  also." 

However,  although  the  Choral  Service  has  become 
almost  National,  it  was  a  long  time  before  much 
progress  was  made.  At  first  there  were  many 
admirers,  especially  those  who  had  made  Cathedral 
tours  in  the  "  old  Country ;  "  but  they  were  afraid  of 
anything  like  innovation,  some  declaring  that  it 
would  be  contrary  to  the  rubrics  of  the  American 
Prayer  Book. 

The  ecclesiastical  authority  of  the  diocese  of  New 
York,  and  the  controversary  in  the  Church  Journal 
soon  settled  this  question.  It  was  perfectly  obvious 
that  there  was  no  intention  either  in  the  canons, 
rubrics,  or  Book  of  Common  Prayer  to  discontinue 


OF  Revolutioxary  Tidies.         75 

the  Choral  Service,  the  Choral  Service  being  in  fact 
part  of  the  common  law  of  the  Church  Catholic. 

The  late  Dr  Croswell,  Rector  of  the  Church  of  the 
Advent,  Boston,  having  heard  the  service  when  on 
a  visit  to  Troy,  determined  to  adopt  it;  and  from 
Boston  the  usage  extended  to  the  City  of  New 
York,  where  a  society  of  clergymen  and  laymen 
was  formed  under  the  musical  direction  of  the  late 
Dr  Hodges,  organist  of  Trinity  Church,  for  its  pro- 
motion ;  from  which  City  it  has  extended  all  over 
the  United  States.  What  added  considerably  to 
the  movement  was  the  substitution  of  male  for 
mixed  choirs. 

However,  the  Choral  Service  Avas  not  introduced 
into  Trinity  Church  until  after  Dr  Hodges  had 
returned  to  England,  although  he  had  prepared  the 
way  for  it.  Dr  Cutler,  from  the  Church  of  the  Ad- 
vent, Boston,  succeeding  the  learned  Doctor  who  for 
many  years  had  directed  the  music  of  Trinity 
Church  Parish. 

Edward  Hodges,  Mus.  Doc,  took  his  degree  in 
1825  at  the  English  University  of  Cambridge,  and 
came  to  this  country  in  1838  ;  he  was  for  twenty- 
five  years  organist  of  Trinity  Parish,  Ncav  York, 
and  it  is  universally  conceded  that  he  is  the  father 
of  ecclesiastial  music  in  the  United  States. 

Editor. 


AN  EASTER  EGG 


(77) 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTKATIOI^S. 


PAGE. 

1. 

The  Hall  * Frontispiece 

2. 

Dancing  School 

88 

3. 

The  Refusal 

92 

4. 

A  Conference     . 

93 

5. 

Burying  the  Treasure . 

99 

6. 

Haunted  Cellar 

.       101 

1. 

Wedding  Party 

.       107 

8. 

Old  Chimney;  a  landmark 
*  See  page  108. 

113 

(79) 


TABLE  OF  C0:N^TE]S'TS, 


PAGE. 

Introduction      .         .         .         .         .         .  .83 

Chapter  I.     Society  in  Revolutionary  Times  .       85 

Chapter  II.     Love-making  by  Moonlight      .  .       90 

Chapter  III.     A  Dubious  State  of  Affairs  .  .       93 
Chapter  IV.     Hidden  Treasure  ....       99 

Chapter  Y,     An  Extraordinary  Proposition  .     102 

Chapter  YI.     Change  of  Times  .          .          .  .106 

Chapter  YII.     Conclusion           .         .         .  .110 

Appendix            .          .         .         .         .         .  .113 


(81) 


I]SrTEODUCTIO:N'. 


It  was  some  years  after  the  gathering 
round  the  Yule-log  in  Connecticut,  that 
cousin  Jack  found  himself  seated  beside 
his  fair  cousin  Mary  in  a  one-horse  chaise 
on  the  road  from  Troy  to  Albany,  where 
Miss  Mary  was  returning  to  boarding- 
school,  when  the  young  lady  often  referred 
to  the  Christmas  merry  making  in  the  old 
farm-house.  Miss  Mary  was  willing  to 
hear  something  more  from  her  cousin,  the 
story  teller,  especially  as  the  road  (a  century 
ago)  was  dull  and  uninteresting;  the  fol- 
lowing tale  was  told,  and  as  it  concerns 
Revolutionary  times  it  is  subjoined. 


(83) 


AN  EASTER  EGG. 


CHAPTER  I. 


"  The  war's  whole  art  each  private  soldier  knows, 
And  with  a  gen'ral's  love  of  conquest  glows." 

Addison. 

Among  the  Boutonville  papers  was  the 
following  tale  of  Kevolutionaiy  Times. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  1775  an 
expedition  was  undertaken,  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Montgomery,  against  Que- 
bec. Among  the  volunteers  on  that  ill- 
starred  attempt  was  Major  Waring  of 
Westchester  Co.,  llSTew  York.  On  his  return 
from  Canada  the  Major  heard  of  the  sale  of 
an  estate  in  Westchester  Co.  the  price  of 
which  tempted  him  to  invest  all  that  he 
had.  The  gentleman  from  whom  the  land 
was  purchased  had  determined  to  sell  out 
his  interest  in  American  soil  and  return  to 
England;  for,  as  he  declared,  he  did  not  wish 

(85) 


86  Recollections 

to  be  ill  the  midst  of  a  border  war,  as  "  cow- 
boys and  skinners"  had  begun  to  harass 
the  country  not  sparing  the  property  of 
either  friend  or  foe. 

In  more  settled  times  Major  "Waring 
would,  doubtless,  have  had  a  thorough 
search  of  title,  but  as  he  knew  the  land  had 
been  in  possession  of  Mr.  Heathcote,  he 
thought  the  title  must  be  unquestionably 
good ;  however,  the  Major  was  mistaken  as 
will  presently  appear. 

After  the  w^ar,  however,  the  land  rose 
rapidly  in  value.  Major  Waring  made 
great  improvements,  improving  roads,  sell- 
ing and  leasing  lots  with  guarantee  title, 
and  mortgaging  the  land  in  order  to  raise 
money  for  building  purposes.  A  zealous 
churchman,  he  built  a  church  and  school- 
house  at  his  own  expense,  besides  being 
one  of  the  supporters  of  the  church  and 
school. 

In  the  midst  of  this  prosperity  there  came 
an  unexpected  blow.  Some  persons  living 
in  'New  York,  claiming  to  be  the  heirs-at- 
law  of  the  original  proprietor,  called  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  land  had  been  en- 


OF  Revolutio^^ary  Times.         87 

tailed  and  that  Major  Waring  had  purchased 
it  of  a  gentleman,  who  had  only  a  life  es- 
tate; consequently  the  great  estate  with  all 
its  improvements,  church  and  school  in- 
cluded, belonged  to  the  heirs  of  the  original 
proprietor. 

]N^ow,  it  happened  that  that  marplot,  Dea- 
con Doolittle,  had  occasion  to  go  to  'New 
York  to  make  search  among  old  records 
(for  the  Deacon  was  an  attorney-at-law)  and 
there  he  stumbled  on  the  fact  that  the  es- 
tate had  been  entailed.  The  Deacon  was 
lawyer  enough  to  know  that  under  our  law 
an  entail  could  not  be  broken  except  with 
the  consent  of  the  eldest  son  of  the  pro- 
prietor. By  diligent  search  he  could  dis- 
cover no  title-deed  by  which  the  entail  had 
been  broken.  Finding  the  heirs  of  the 
original  proprietor  living  in  New  York  he 
made  a  bargain  with  them  for  a  large  com- 
mission, in  case  he  could  recover  the  estate 
securing  for  himself  the  lion's  share. 

Jonathan  Doolittle  in  spite  of  his  nominal 
ecclesiastical  character  was  rather  worldly- 
minded  ;  moreover,  his  son,  a  gawky  young 
man,  had  been  rejected  by  Miss  Fannie,  the 


88  E-ECOLLECTIOIS'S 

Major's  only  child,  a  great  country  belle, 
for  besides  being  an  accomplished  heiress, 
her  mother  was  a  Livingston  and  she  the 
granddaughter  of  a  signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  Naturally,  there- 
fore, the  young  lady  was  inclined  to  look 
down  on  country  beaux,  whose  education 
scarcely  extended  beyond  the  three  "  R's  " 
and  but  few  of  whom  had  been  taught  man- 
ners by  the  French  dancing-master,  who 
came  from  ^N^ew  York  in  the  winter  time  to 
instruct  the  country  people;  and  he  was, 
doubtless,  not  a  little  influenced  by  the  ill 
success  of  his  son  with  the  heiress,  of  which 
he  had  good  reason  to  suspect. 

Among  the  young  men  attending  the  vil- 
lage dancing  school  was  young  Doolittle. 
!N^o  amount  of  instruction  could  overcome 
his  natural  awkwardness.  The  dancing- 
master  sometimes  lost  his  temper  in  his 
vain  endeaver  to  teach  him  the  steps.  On 
a  certain  occasion  after  the  young  man  had 
made  several  false  starts  a  little  behind 
time  he  shouted  "  ]S^ow  six  weeks  after  I  say 
'ready,'  begin." 

The  vouth  seemed,  however,  to  be  for- 


OF  Eevolutioxaky  Times.         89 

ward  enough  in  his  attendance  to  Miss 
Fannie  Waring,  the  belle  of  the  ball-room, 
who,  truth  to  tell,  was  inclined  to  amuse 
herself  a  little  at  his  expense,  for  with  others 
she  doubted  the  disinterested  character  of 
his  advances. 

By  the  way  some  allowance  should  be 
made  for  the  hasty  temper  of  the  French 
dancing-master,  for  he  was  one  of  that 
French  noblesse  expelled  from  his  native 
country  by  the  French  Revolution;  and, 
like  many  other  fellow  countrymen,  he  was 
obliged  to  resort  to  some  means  of  gaining 
a  livelihood,  and  as  he  had  been  one  of  the 
gay  courtiers  about  Versailles,  his  taste 
for  fiddling  and  dancing  now  served  for 
his  support,  although  the  stupidity  of  coun- 
try bumpkins  was  very  trying  to  one  of  a 
haughty  temperament. 


90  Recollections 


CHAPTER  II. 

"  All  the  swains  that  there  abide, 
.  With  jigs  and  rural  dance  resort." 

Milton. 

The  village  had  in  it,  among  other  things, 
a  commodious  ball-room;  and  it  was  at  a 
soiree,  or  Public,  that  there  was  a  dispute 
between  Doolittle  and  Mr.  Joe  Mason  as  to 
which  of  the  young  men  should  escort  Miss 
Fannie  to  her  home,  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
village.  Young  Mason  politely  surren- 
dered his  claim  to  Doolittle  not  wishing  the 
young  lady  to  be  annoyed  by  their  dispute. 

It  was  moonlight  when  Mr  Doolittle  was 
escorting  the  young  lady  home  to  her  resi- 
dence in  the  outskirts  of  the  village  when 
he  ventured  on  a  rather  delicate  subject. 

"In  my  father's  office,"  said  he,  "  I  chanced 
to  learn,  this  morning,  that  the  old  man  had 
made  an  important  discovery  which  may 
greatly  aifect  your  father's  estate  in  this 
town."     "Please  speak  to  my  father  about 


OF    REVOLUTIOXAPtY    TiMES.  91 

it,  as  I  am  but  a  girl,  and  don't  understand 
such  matters.''  "  But,  my  dear  Miss  Fannie, 
it  concerns  you  more  than  one  else."  ^^I 
don't  see  how  that  can  be,"  said  Miss  Fannie. 
"  My  father,"  said  the  young  man,  "  would 
be  offended  with  me  if  I  were  to  hint  the 
matter  to  any  one  unless — unless — "  "  Un- 
less what?  "  said  Miss  Fannie.  "  Unless  — 
he  thought  I  was  like  to  become  a  near 
relative,  in  which  case  it  would  greatly  alter 
matters;  and  as  it  would  be  all  in  the  fam- 
ily, he  would  discreetly  suppress  all  informa- 
tion.'' 

Miss  Fannie,  said :  '^  Sir,  you  are  very 
much  mistaken  if  you  think  my  father 
would  consent  to  any  such  arrangement. 
The  hand  of  his  daughter  may  not  be 
worth  much,  but  it  is  certainly  not  for  sale; 
and  I  beg  you  will  not  speak  to  me  any 
more  on  the  subject,  for  if  he  were  to  listen 
to  any  such  arrangement,  I  assuredly  would 
not."  "Perhaps  if  you  knew  how  much 
it  concerned  you  all,  it  might  make  some 
difference,"  said  Jerry.  "  H^o,  indeed,  noth- 
ing could  make  me  change  my  mind;  and,  as 
we  are   now  home,  I  will   wish   you  good 


92 


Recollections 


The  young  man  retired  not  a 
little  mortified  at  his  want  of  success;  for 
evidently  the  young  lady  was  much  better 
pleased  with  his  rival,  whose  graceful  man- 
ners were  much  more  acceptable  to  the 
belle  of  the  ball-room. 


OF  Revolutionary  Times.        98 


CHAPTER  III. 

"  To  every  doubt  your  answer  is  the  same, 
It  so  fell  out,  and  so  by  chance  it  came." 

Sir  R.  Blackmore. 

"  One  Sunday,  after  church,"  said  consin 
Jack,  "  I  was  called  into  the  study  of  Dr. 
Holyoake,  where  the  Rev.  Divine  was  sol- 
acing himself  Avith  a  pipe.  Taking  the 
fair  long  pipe  out  of  his  mouth,  he  said  '  I 
fear,  young  man,  that  our  patron  and  church 
warden  is  about  to  be  ruined  by  a  suit  of 
ejectment  recently  begun. 

'  It  seems  that  Deacon  Doolittle,  who  is 
among  other  things  an  attorney-at-law,  has 
made  a  discovery  that  the  land  on  which 
this  village  with  church  and  school-house, 
also  the  mansion  of  Major  Waring,  was  en- 
tailed by  the  original  proprietor. 

'  Major  Waring,  when  he  bought  the  land 
at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
had  no  idea  of  this  ancient  settlement.  He 
knew  that  the  land  had  been  possessed  by 


94  Recollection^s 

the  grandfather  of  Mr.  Heathcote,  of  whom 
he  had  purchased  the  land,  which  satisfied 
him,  inexperienced  in  such  matters,  that  the 
title  Avas  good. 

The  Major  greatly  improved  the  property, 
sold  and  leased  lots,  giving  warrantee-deeds, 
and  if  he  can  not  prove  that  the  entail  is 
broken,  he  and  his  family  will  be  ruined,  the 
church,  school-house,  and  parsonage  put  up 
and  sold  to  the  highest  bidder,  unless,  in- 
deed, a  high  and  ruinous  price  is  paid  for 
quit-claims.  The  building  of  our  new  and 
enlarged  chancel  with  its  organ-chamber 
and  ncAV  and  powerful  instrument,  i)lans  of 
which  the  Major  has  procured,  would  be 
indefinitely  suspended. 

'  The  Major  had  made  diligent  search 
everywhere,  and  though  much  alarmed  at 
the  state  of  the  case,  which  as  you  may  be- 
lieve, looks  very  dark.  He  and  Miss  Fan- 
nie are  making  the  usual  preparations  for 
the  Whitsun-tide  festivities,  which  you 
know  is  to  include  a  fancy  dress-party  and 
a  whitsun  morris  dance,  although  I  have 
begged  them  to  omit  the  entertainment,  but 
the  Major  will  not  have  the  young  people 


OF  Revolutioj^ary  Times.         95 

disappointed,  for  they  have  been  looking 
forward  to  this  festival  since  Christmas.' " 

"  Tell  me,"  said  cousin  Jack,  '^  if  I  can  be 
of  any  service  to  you."  "  You  can,"  said 
the  Doctor;  ''it  has  just  occurred  to  me 
that  you  must  pass  the  house  of  farmer 
Mason  on  your  return  home,  and  if  you 
would  call  he  might  possibly  be  able  to 
throw  some  light  on  the  subject,  for  the  old 
gentleman  is  well  acquainted  with  the  his- 
tory of  Colony  times.  His  wife  was  a 
sister  of  the  late  proprietor,  who,  by  the 
way,  it  is  claimed  had  only  a  life  estate." 
"  Indeed,"  said  cousin  Jack,  "  I  have  fre- 
quently called  there  with  Miss  Mason,  who 
is  a  niece  of  his,  and  I  recollect  hearing  him 
say  that  he  had  a  good  many  papers,  throw- 
ing light  on  Revolutionary  times.'' 

"  I  immediately  persuaded  Miss  MoUie  to 
acquiesce  in  this  suggestion  of  the  Doctor's. 

Our  road  home  lay  along  the  Sound  for 
some  miles  and  we  had  to  pass  the  farm- 
house occupied  by  Miss  Mollie's  uncle,  who, 
I  recollect,  once  offered  to  show  me  some 
old  manuscripts,  which  were  curious  and 
which  might  throw  some  light  on  old  Colony 
times. 


96  Recollections 

A  straight  road  or  avenue  branched  off 
from  the  highway  and  terminated  in  a  sort 
of  square  courtyard  on  which  the  farmhouse 
fronted. 

The  old  house  was  one  of  those  gabled 
mansions  with  red-tiled  roof,  whose  fronts 
were  built  of  brick  brought  from  Holland. 
On  one  side  of  this  courtyard  was  an  apple 
orchard,  on  the  other  a  garden  in  which 
flowers  and  vegetables  were  growing  side 
by  side.  On  the  fourth  side  a  pasture  sloped 
to  the  shore  of  the  Sound,  on  which  vessels 
were  constantly  j)assing  to  and  from  the 
city.  You  entered  a  hall,  the  ceiling  of 
which  was  crossed  by  ponderous  beams 
which  had  evidently  never  been  painted. 
When  I  reminded  Mr  Mason  of  his  j^romise, 
he  called  out  to  his  son  Joe,  and,  giving  him 
the  key  of  the  chest,  suggested  that  he 
should  show  me  the  old  papers.  Joe  and  I 
went  up  stairs  leaving  Miss  Mollie  with  her 
uncle. 

We  searched  in  vain  for  any  document 
that  would  throw  light  on  the  matter.  Joe, 
however,  when  he  understood  what  was 
wanted,  said  that  he  had  heard  when  a  child 


OF  Revolutionary  Times.         97 

from  an  old  negro,  who  had  formerly  be- 
longed to  the  late  proprietor,  that  there  was 
a  secret  about  the  old  house,  which  he  was 
sworn  to  keep  until  Joe  came  of  age;  for 
Mr.  Heathcote's  sister  was  his  mother.  The 
negro  is  still  living  in  a  cabin  in  Witches' 
Lane,  for  he  was  sold  to  a  neighbor  in  Con- 
necticut, when  Mr.  Heathcote  parted  with 
his  real  and  personal  property  in  this  coun- 
try. '  I  imagine,'  said  Joe, '  that  we  might 
get  some  information  from  the  old  negro, 
that  might  be  of  service,  as  I  am  now 
of  age ;  and,  if  you  will  go  with  me  to-mor- 
row, we  will  question  the  old  man.' 

As  I  drove  Miss  Mason  home,  we  had  a 
good  deal  to  say  about  Joe's  interest  in  the 
subject.  'My  cousin,'  said  Miss  Mollie,  4s 
evidently  very  sweet  on  Miss  Fannie,  al- 
though worshipping  at  a  respectful  distance. 
He  and  young  Doolittle  had  a  little  spat 
about  her  last  winter,  which  of  them  should 
escort  Miss  Fannie  home  after  the  "public." 
Miss  Fannie  was  evidently  annoyed  at  the 
dispute,  which  Joe  perceiving,  he  instantly 
relinquished  the  honour  and  privilege.  I 
imagine,  however,  that  Doolittle  did  not 
have  a  very  pleasant  time  of  it.' 


98  Recollections 

"  Bat"  said  cousin  Jack,  "you  don't  think 
Miss  Fannie  will  condescend  to  a  country 
boy."  "  Cousin  Joe  is  a  good  looking  fel- 
low," said  Miss  Mollie,  "  and  if  he  could 
make  himself  useful  to  the  family,  much 
might  be  done  for  hmi;  and  the  Majoi*,  you 
know,  has  influence  especially  in  the  now 
rising  city  of  New  York." 


OF  Revolutionary  Times.         99 


CHAPTER  lY. 

"  When  we  behold  an  angel,  not  to  fear, 
Is  to  be  hnprudent." 

Dryden. 

"  The  next  day  "  said  cousin  Jack,  "  Joe 
Mason  and  myself  questioned  the  old  negro 
about  his  recollections  of  the  old  homestead; 
but  it  was  first  necessary  to  convince  Tony 
of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Mason  was  of  full  age, 
before  he  would  fully  talk  on  the  subject. 
At  length,  being  satisfied,  he  declared  his 
willingness  to  explain  the  mystery. 

'  For  you  see,  marster  Joe,  de  myst'ry  is 
all  in  de  cellar  of  de  old  house;  for  de  boss, 
when  he  sold  de  estate,  meanin'  to  go  back 
to  de  old  country,  gave  me  with  de  house 
to  his  sister,  who  had  married  marster  Ma- 
son, 'cause  he  didn't  like  de  fightin'  goin' 
on  all  'round  de  night.  'Fore  he  left  when 
all  were  asleep  in  the  house,  he  called  dis 
here  nigger  an'  says  "ol'  Tony,  help  me  with 
dis  plate-chest  into  de  cellar.'     I  took  hoi ' 


100  Recollections 

of  de  chest  bound  with  iron  and  helped 
marster  cany  it  down-stars.  Here  in  de 
middle  of  de  cellar  was  a  dungeon,  covered 
with  a  trap-door,  where  we  used  to  keep 
taters  'fore  de  new  cellar  was  built.  We 
put  de  box  in  de  dungeon,  putting  bricks 
under  it  to  keep  it  from  de  damp  groun',  and 
arter  taking  off  de  trap-door,  we  covered  it 
over  with  bricks  so  no  one  would  neber 
think  thar  had  been  a  dungeon  thar;  and 
then  says  Marster^' I'm  gwine  to  Barbadoes 
'fore  I  go  to  the  ol'  country,  an'  if  I  don't 
come  back  no  more  you  tell  no  one  'till 
baby  Joe  comes  of  age  as  he  was  afraid  of 
de  "  cowboys"  and  '^  skinners  "  would  find 
de  plate  chest.' 

^When  aunt  Bessie,  de  ol'  cook,  asked 
what  had  become  of  de  trap-door,  w^hich  I 
had  chopped  into  kindlin'  wood,  I  told  her 
the  horned  debbil  must  have  flown  away 
with  it;  for  you  know,  marster  Jack,  Satan 
has  always  been  very  powerful  in  dese  parts 
ebber  since  de  witches  troubled  de  Ian '. 
'Fore  I  was  sold  to  your  grandfather,  massa 
Jack,  I  did  see  de  ol'  debbil  in  dat  same 
cellar.'     "  How   is   that '  said   Joe  Mason, 


OF  Revolutioxary  Times.       101 

'  1  never  heard  that  the  house  was  haunted." 
'  Why, '  said  old  Tony,  '  it  was  two  or 
three  years  after  de  oV  marster  Heathcote 
had  gone  to  Barbadoes,  where  he  died  of  de 
fever,  marster  Mason  sent  me  to  get  a  pitcher 
of  cider  and  I  did  see  de  ghost  of  marster, 
or  de  debbil  in  his  shape,  a  straddle  of  de 
cider  barr'l,  who  cried  out  "  say  nothing  of 
de  plate  chest  except  to  little  Joe  when  he 
be  grown  up." 

"I  hollered,  for  I  was  awfu'  scart,  and 
when  dey  come  down  to  see  Avhat  was  de 
matter  dey  found  nobody  but  dis  nigger,  de 
candle,  and  de  pitcher  all  in  a  heap  on  the 
floor.  Massa  Mason  said  I  was  crazy  and 
dat  he  would  sell  dis  nigger  the  first  chance 
he  got.'" 


102  Recollections 


CHAPTER  Y. 

"Nay,  you  shall  see  mine  orchard;  where,  in  an  arbor, 
we  will  eat  a  last  years'  pipen  of  my  own  graffing,  with  a 
dish  of  carraways,  and  so  forth ;" 

Shakespeare. 

Deacon  Doolittle  called  on  Major  Waring, 
when  the  following  conversation  took  place. 
Deacox.  "  I  understand.  Major  Waring, 
that  you  have  just  been  re-elected  church 
warden."  Major.  "  The  church  people  of 
Whiteplains  have  been  good  enough  to 
continue  their  confidence  in  their  old  ves- 
tryman." Deacox.  "  Are  they  aware  that 
the  title  to  their  church  property  is  ques- 
tionable." Major.  "  Indeed,  they  have 
heard  that  the  claim  has  been  set  up,  Avhich 
I  hope  will  prove  unfounded."  Deacon. 
"  I  imagine.  Major,  that  if  you  and  I  could 
agree  on  terms,  all  further  proceedings  might 
be  checked,  for  I  have  all  the  evidence  in 
my  hands."  Major.  "  I  don't  understand 
what  you  mean."  Deacon.  "  To  speak 
plainly,  my  boy  has  taken  a  fancy  to  your 


OF  Ke VOLUTION ARY  TiMES.    103 

girl,  and  could  they  make  a  match  it  would 
become  a  family  matter,  and  the  heirs-at-law 
of  Heathcote  would  find  it  very  difficult  to 
get  along  in  their  suit  of  ejectment  without 
my  co-operation.  A  very  moderate  sum  of 
money  would  buy  off  any  claim  that  they 
might  think  they  have.''  Major.  "  I  must 
say  I  don't  like  your  proposition;  if  they 
have  any  right,  you  ought  not  to  suppress 
any  evidence.  Anyhow,  my  daughter's 
hand  could  not  be  the  subject  of  barter.  If 
we  are  to  be  dispossed  it  must  be  by  fair 
means  and  according  to  the  law  of  the  land, 
and  if  I  am  to  seek  a  new  home  I  am  sure 
my  daughter  will  go  with  me.  I  wish, 
therefore,  you  would  excuse  me,  for  we  have 
to  make  arrangements  for  our  usual  Easter 
entertainment."  Deacon.  "  Then  if  we 
can  not  come  to  any  arrangement  I  will 
wish  you  good  morning." 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  Deacon  Doo- 
little,  Mr.  Joe  Mason  was  announced,  who 
was  received  by  Miss  Fannie,  when  the  fol- 
lowing conversation  took  place.  Mr.  Mason. 
"I  have  come  thus  early  because  I  wish  to 
present  you  with  a  document,  by  way  of  an 


104  Recollectioxs 

Easter-egg,  which  my  father  desu^ed  me  to 
present,  and  which  he  thought  would  be  of 
interest  to  you  and  your  father.  It  was 
discovered  among  some  old  papers,  and  the 
old  gentleman  desired  that  I  would  make 
haste  and  bring  it  to  you.  It  was  found,  I 
I  should  say,  in  an  old  chest  that  had  been 
secreted  in  the  cellar  in  Revolutionary  times 
that  it  might  be  hid  from  '  cowboys '  and 
'  skinners  '  who  had  repeatedly  raided  the 
old  house  in  search  of  booty." 

Just  then  the  Major  coming  into  the  par- 
lour, Miss  Fannie  handed  him  the  document, 
which  the  Major  hastily  examined  with  much 
emotion  and  said,  "  My  dear  young  friend, 
you  have  found  what  was  lost — an  impor- 
tant document;  for  it  is  the  title-deed,  duly 
signed  and  attested,  which  we  have  been  so 
long  endeavoring  to  find.  It  makes  you  a 
most  welcome  visitor  to  this  house,  and  it 
puts  my  daughter  and  myself  under  ever- 
lasting obligations,  for  we  cannot  now  be 
driven  from  our  home,  nor  can  the  church 
and  village  be  dispossed  of  their  property, 
the  title  of  which  has  been  questioned  by 
JN^ew  York  lawyers." 


OF  Revolutio:n^ary  Times.       105 

Visitors  were  now  coming  constantly, 
and  as  the  good  news  sped  from  mouth  to 
mouth  soon  the  whole  village  was  astir  with 
excitement.  A  band  of  music  which  had 
been  engaged  for  the  Easter  festivities  were 
in  triumphant  blast,  bonfires  were  blazing, 
and  the  multitude  gathered  on  the  lawn 
were  jubilant  with  their  acclamations.  And 
as  the  Major  locked  up  the  document  in  his 
strong  box,  after  showing  it  to  Dr.  Holy- 
oake,  who  had  carefully  examined  it,  "  It 
is,"  said  the  Doctor,  "a  veritable  Easter-egg, 
and  it  is  the  truth  of  the  words  of  the 
prophet  that '  the  liberal  soul  devises  liberal 
things,  and  by  liberal  things  shall  he  stand.'" 
To  which  the  crowd  shouted  a  loud  "  Amen." 


106  Recollections 


CHAPTEE   VI. 

"  0  happy  youth! 
For  whom  thy  fates  reserve  so  fair  a  bride:" 

Dryden. 

Seven  years  had  passed  since  the  events 
recorded  in  the  last  chapter.  MoUie  Mason 
had  run  away  with  her  French  dancing-mas- 
ter; her  cousin,  Joe,  had  left  his  father's 
farm  to  become  a  merchant's  clerk  in  ^ew 
York,  where  he  gradually  rose  to  be  a  jun- 
ior partner,  aided,  doubtless,  by  the  bags  of 
doubloons  found  in  the  plate  chest.  Being 
of  a  quiet  and  industrious  disposition  he 
improved  himself  by  reading  and  study. 
Sundays  were  always  spent  in  the  country 
and  his  Sunday  evenings  at  the  house  of 
Major  Waring,  where  he  continued  to  be  a 
most  welcome  visitor,  when  he  and  Miss 
Fannie  charmed  the  neighbors  with  duets. 
For  Joe  had  not  only  improved  by  reading 
and  study,  but  especially  cultivated  a  fine 
tenor  voice. 


OF  Revolutionary  Times.       107 

The  Major  had  added  a  tower  to  the 
church  by  way  of  a  thank-offering  for  his 
unexpected  delivery,  to  which  the  inhabi- 
tants had  added  a  peal  of  bells,  which  were 
now  in  full  swing,  as  a  coach  and  four  drove 
from  the  church  door  with  a  happy  pair, 
just  united  in  matrimony  by  the  venerable 
Dr  Holyoake;  for,  as  may  be  imagined,  the 
seven  years  of  devotion,  (like  that  of  Jacob 
for  his  Rachel )  had  been  rewarded  by  the 
hand  and  fortune  of  the  belle  of  the  village* 
Indeed,  Major  Waring  was  often  heard  to 
observe,  that  he  could  not  do  better  than  to 
bestow  the  hand  of  his  daughter  on  one  who 
had  been  so  constant  and  had  been  the  in- 
strument, under  Providence,  of  saving  his 
family,  church,  and  village  from  threatened 
ruin. 

The  school  and  the  villagers  were  enter- 
tained at  the  mansion  of  Major  Waring, 
where  a  fancy  dress-party  were  celebrating 
the  joyful  occasion  with  a  morris-dance. 

As  the  Reverend  Dr.  Holyoake  had  a 
good  deal  to  do  with  managing  these  open 
air  festivals,  they  naturally  assumed  the  ap- 
pearance of  similar  festivities  held  on  the 


108  E-ECOLLECTIO^^S 

English  village  greens,  although  such  Whit- 
sun-ales  were  always  observed  with  becom- 
ing docorum.  The  Doctor  was  no  anchorite 
and  always  preached  and  practiced  modera- 
tion, insisting  that  although  all  people  at  the 
Church  festivals  should  greatly  rejoice,  yet 
they  should  not  make  beasts  of  themselves; 
often  referring  to  Gregory  the  Great,  who 
recommended  hilarity  but  not  inebriety,  that 
the  animals  sacrificed  in  his  time^Dia- 
bolo,  —  to  the  Devil,"  should  be  eaten  by 
Christian  people  "  Ad  laudem  Dei,  —  to  the 
praise  of  God." 

Some  time  after  Joe  Mason  and  his  wife's 
return  from  a  European  tour,  which  in  those 
days  was  by  no  means  as  common  as  in 
more  modern  times,  an  addition  w^as  made 
to  the  old  Dutch  farm-house,  in  which  Joe 
was  born,  and  which  gave  an  air  of  greater 
style  to  the  house  intended  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  young  ]3eople.  The  j^ew 
York  architect,  however,  Avas  governed  in 
his  design  by  the  English  taste  for  Gothic 
architecture,  just  then  reviving. 

There  was  a  huge  fire-place  and  an  oak- 
panelled  ceiling  much  more  elegant   than 


or  Revolutionary  Times.       109 

the  heavy  timbered  roof  in  the  entrance  hall 
of  the  old  Dutch  farm-house.  The  family 
had  learned  to  highly  prize  the  house  in 
which  the  hidden  plate-chest  had  been  found, 
and  they  had  determined  not  to  part  with 
it  but  rather  to  improve  the  land  about  it  by 
not  only  planting  an  avenue  of  trees  from 
the  road  to  the  house,  but  with  additional 
plantations  and  other  improvements  and 
embellishments,  being  in  no  wise  deterred  by 
fear  of  the  goblin  that  had  watched  over  the 
treasure  trove. 


110  Eecollections 


C0]N'CLUSI0:N. 

"  All 's  well  that  ends  well." 

Shahesi^eare. 

The  foregoing  tale  was  told  by  cousin 
Jack,  the  Church-warden  of  St.  Paul's,  as  he 
drove  little  Mary  to  and  from  her  school  in 
Albany,  where  she  had  been  sent  by  her 
parents,  to  finish  her  education;  for  they 
had  removed  to  Troy,  ]S^.  Y.,  with  cousin 
Jack,  soon  after  the  yule-tide  party  at  her 
grandfather's  house,  which  old  farm-house 
continued  to  be  the  resort  of  the  grand- 
children for  many  years  after ;  indeed,  un- 
til they  were  grown  up  and  married  and 
had  homes  of  their  own  in  difi*erent  parts 
of  the  country. 

Mrs.  Starr's  boarding-school  in  Albany 
was  quite  eminent  at  that  time  until  Mrs. 
Emma  Willard  had  established  her  famous 
Female  Seminary  in  Troy,  ]^.  Y.  The  roads 
between  Troy  and  Albany  in  those  days 
were  rough,  ill-made,  and  not  much  traveled, 


OF  Revolutioi^ary  Times.       Ill 

so  that  Miss  Mary  was  glad  to  avail  her- 
self of  her  cousin's  polite  invitation  to  drive 
over. 

The  Church-warden  continued  his  "  Re- 
collections of  Revolutionary  Times  "  as  he 
drove  to  and  from  Albany,  which  it  seems, 
the  young  lady  committed  to  paper  and 
transmitted  to  her  cousins  residing  in  the 
old  homestead. 

As  the  manuscript  related  to  ^'Revolution- 
ary Times  "  it  naturally  found  its  way  into 
the  receptacle  provided  for  such  travelers' 
tales  not  in  but  over  the  fire-place,  and  yet 
the  story  has  this  merit  of  being  something 
more  than  a  mere  traveler's  tale,  for  the 
title-deed  is  now  on  record,  which  proved 
to  be  so  acceptable  an  Easter  egg  to  Major 
"Waring ;  and  his  friends  and  the  school  were 
also  equally  substantial,  although  seeming 
to  be  but  a  part  of  a  fairy  tale. 

Title  to  land  in  the  Colony  of  ^ew  York 
in  the  last  century  was  very  much  as  it  was 
in  England.  The  eldest  son  must  sign  off 
with  his  father  in  case  an  entailed  estate  * 

*  The  earliest  statute  abolishing  entailed  estates 
was  passed  in  1782. 


112  Recollections 

was  sold.  This  it  appears  actually  hap- 
pened on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  although 
the  estate  was  not  in  .Westchester  County, 
and  as  in  the  story  a  multitude  of  innocent 
purchasers  might  have  been  ruined  had  it 
not  been  that  a  title  deed  was  accidently 
discovered,  properly  signed,  and  which  is 
now  on  record.  Had  not  this  discovery 
been  timely  made  a  most  useful  Institution 
similar  to  that  described  in  the  foregoing 
story  would  have  been  greatly  damaged  if 
not  utterly  ruined,  all  of  which  is  an  addi- 
tional proof,  if  one  were  needed,  that  there 
is  a  wise  over-ruling  Providence  causing 
useful  discoveries  to  be  made  where  they 
are  most  needed. 

Moreover,  people  began  to  talk  about  the 
attention  of  the  Church- warden  to  his  fair 
cousin.  Miss  Mary,  and  in  spite  of  objections 
made  by  their  relatives,  the  young  lady  de- 
clared she  would  rather  be  his  daughter 
than  another  man's  wife,  having  been  sin- 
cerely attached  to  her  cousin  Jack  ever 
since  their  merry  making  in  the  old  farm- 
house "  Round  about  the  Yule-log." 


Recollectioxs  113 


APPENDIX. 


This  ruinous  chimney  has  quite  a  history; 
for  after  the  old  house  was  burnt  (some- 
where about  1825)  the  chimney  remained 
standing,  serving  as  a  landmark,  for  half  a 
century,  to  ships  going  in  and  out  of  the 
harbor  of  ^N^orwalk.  When  at  length  it  fell, 
there  rolled  out  from  a  secret  deposit  a  capa- 
cious earthern  jar  filled  with  papers.  This, 
with  the  seal  unbroken,  was  sent  to  the 
editor,  who  had  previously  received  from 
the  proprietor  the  old  arm-chair  and  kitchen 
clock,  with  a  request  from  the  donor  that 
if  there  was  money  in  the  jar  a  dividend 
should  be  made  among  the  numerous  de- 
scendants of  the  original  j)roprietor. 

It  would  seem  that  the  Yule-log  annu- 
ally burnt  in  this  chimney  has  brought  good 
luck  as  if  it  stood  on  fairy  ground. 


114       OF  Kevolutionaky  Times. 


A  YULE   SONG. 

Now  blazing  yule  logs  crown  the  hearth, 
Dispensing  warmth  with  light  and  mirth; 
Now  Christmas  gambols,  quaint  and  rare, 
Delight  the  heart  and  banish  care. 
Chorus. 
*  Rejoice !  our  Saviour  He  was  born 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning. 

Now  holly  boughs  bedeck  the  wall, 

In  lowly  cot  and  lofty  hall, 

And  mistletoe  with  promise  fair, 

Its  berries  yields  to  those  who  dare. 
Chorus. 
Rejoice !  our  Saviour  He  was  born 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning. 

Then  open  wide  the  stately  hall, 

And  banquet  spread  for  great  and  small; 

And  we  with  garlands  gay  will  bring 

The  tuneful  harp,  and  ever  sing. 
Chorus. 
Rejoice  !  our  Saviour  He  was  born 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morning. 

*  This  chorus  is  to  be  found  in  several  old  Eng- 
lish carols,  and  is  quoted  by  Mr.  Irving  in  his 
Sketch  Book.  For  music,  see  Carols  and  Operet- 
tas published  by  Pond  &  Co. 


OF  Revolutionary  Times.       115 


APPEISTDIX  B. 


These  tales  of  Revolutionary  Times  were 
suggested  to  the  author  by  the  history  of 
ail  institution  originating  many  years  since 
by  a  benevolent  old  lady,  a  native  of  ^N^or- 
walk,  Conn.,  who,  with  her  husband  and 
family,  had  immigrated  to  Troy,  ]^.  Y.,  in 
1798 ;  where  being  much  interested  in  the 
planting  of  the  Church  in  that  village,  had 
endeavored  to  promote  the  interest  of  St. 
Paul's,  founded  in  1804,  by  looking  after  the 
Catechetical  instruction  of  the  children. 

Among  the  evil  consequences  of  the 
unnatural  war  of  1812,  was  the  increase  of 
neglected  children  amongst  the  poorer 
class.  The  pious  and  benevolent  old  lady 
collected  as  many  of  these  as  she  conven- 
iently could  for  a  Saturday  sewing-school, 
or  school  of  industry,  in  which  they  were 
taught  their  Catechism  and  plain  sewing. 
From  this  small  beginning  was  developed 


116  Recollections 

a  Mission  Church,  the  corner-stone  of 
which  was  laid  the  25th  of  April,  1844. 
"  We  had,"  says  the  Diary  of  the  founder 
of  the  Mission  Church,  "  a  bright  and  glo- 
rious day  for  our  services,  which,  I  trust,  is 
an  omen  of  the  smiles  and  approbation 
of  an  overruling  Providence  on  our  under- 
taking." 

The  prayer  of  the  founder  seemed  to 
have  been  answered  in  a  remarkable  man- 
ner and  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  dream  of 
the  old  lady  who  originated  the  school.  We 
quote  from  the  Diary:  "  I  would  observe, 
that,  as  the  life  of  my  aged  mother  ap- 
proached its  termination,  her  thoughts  often- 
times seemed  to  soar  to  far  distant  scenes, 
and  sometimes  to  be  lost  in  visions  of  eter- 
nity. She  would  frequently  exclaim,  after 
rising  from  sleep,  ^  Where  am  I?  Have  I 
come  back  again?  O  what  beautiful  things 
I  have  seen!  how  beautiful !  how  sweet!' 
And  again,  '  What  beautiful  candle  sticks 
I  have  seen  for  the  Church ;  so  surpassingly 
so  that  they  are  indescribable !  '  " 

The  old  lady  died  in  1835,  bequeathing 
the  little  school  to  her  daughter-in-law  who 


OF  Revolutio:n^ary  Times,       117 

had  promised  to  continue  it,  greatly  to  the 
dying  woman's  satisfaction. 

In  1839  this  Saturday  sewing-school  was 
converted  into  a  day  school,  using  the  up- 
per room  of  the  Sunday-school  of  St.  Paul's 
Church,  by  the  kind  permission  of  the 
Yestry. 

One  Monday  morning,  in  the  summer  of 
1843,  the  patroness  of  the  little  school  went 
in  as  usual  and  found  the  children  all  in 
tears.  On  inquiring  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
turbance, she  Avas  told  by  Miss  Pierce,  the 
teacher,  that  the  Sunday-school  Superinten- 
dent had  just  been  in,  and  had  lectured  the 
children  on  the  impropriety  of  uniting  their 
voices  with  the  regular  choir.  The  chil- 
dren had  six  or  eight  pews  set  apart  for 
them  in  the  south  gallery,  next  to  the  organ 
loft  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  and  as  they  had 
been  for  several  years  taking  music  lessons 
of  the  late  Professor  Wihiam  Hopkins  they 
had  become  quite  accomplished  singers 
for  children;  but  the  choir  were  unwiUingj 
the  Superintendent  said,  that  the  children 
should  assist  in  the  music  of  the  church, 
and  that  unless  he  could  stop  them  they 
would  quit. 


118  Recollections 

This  musical  strike  frightened  the  Super- 
intendent, who  was  a  benevolent  man,  and 
doubtless  had  no  idea  of  the  pain  he  was 
inflicting.  The  j^atroness  said  to  the  chil- 
dren, "  Dry  your  eyes,  and  like  good  chil- 
dren do  as  you  are  bid,  and  you  shall  soon 
have  a  church  of  your  own  to  sing  in,  and 
in  which  you  can  sing  to  your  hearts'  con- 
tent." 

The  children  had  been  a  little  exalted 
since  their  elevation  to  the  organ  loft  on 
the  Holidays  occurring  on  week-days,  and 
since  a  Sunday-school  celebration  at  which 
they  assisted  at  a  Choral  Service,  on  which 
occasion  the  venerable  Superintendent  ex- 
pressed himself  decidely  pleased,  declaring 
"that  it  was  very  solemn." 

The  children  were  evidently  proud  of 
serving  in  the  sanctuary,  which  is  not  very 
strange  when  we  consider  that  they  had 
very  little  to  be  proud  of  at  home.  By  the 
way,  it  is  noteworthy  that  since  children 
sang  Hosanna  in  the  Temple  to  the  pres- 
ent day,  the  service  of  praise  has  always 
brought  with  it  a  social  advantage  and  dig- 
nity.    However,  the  patroness  of  the  school 


OF  Eevolutioi^ary  Times.       119 

had  made  provision  for  a  Missionary  Chnrch 
in  her  will.  On  the  spur  of  the  moment 
she  decided  to  be  her  own  executor,  other- 
wise the  matter  might  have  been  deferred 
indefinitely.  These  musical  services  at 
St.  Paul's  were  not  without  good  results, 
and  much  credit  is  due  to  the  energy  and 
zeal  of  their  music-master,  who  for  nearly 
a  quarter  of  a  century  continued  his  ser- 
vices, which  were  highly  appreciated.  Even 
the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  distinguished  for 
his  musical  taste,  said  to  the  writer,  "  that  if 
it  were  not  for  robbing  you  I  would  try  and 
persuade  your  choir-master  to  come  to  ]N'ew 
York";  for  northern  ISTew  York  had  not  at 
that  time  been  separated. 

At  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Mission  Church  the  following  anthems  were 
sung:  1st.  "  O,  send  out  Thy  light  and 
Thy  truth;"  2d.  ^' Great  is  the  Lord,  and 
greatly  to  be  praised  in  the  city  of  our  God, 
in  the  mountain  of  His  holiness."  The  or- 
chestral accompaniment  was  led  by  Pro- 
fessor William  Hopkins,  who  then  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  choir,  which  has  since 
become  quite  celebrated. 


120  Kecollectioxs 

The  Missionary  Church  was  thus  deter- 
mined on,  with  the  approbation  of  the 
founder's  children,  the  youngest  of  whom, 
George  Henry,  promised  to  give  a  lot  for  the 
Church,  which  promise  was  faithfully  kept 
when  he  came  of  age;  whilst  her  daughter 
offered  to  furnish  the  painted  glass,  and  her 
son,  Stephen  E.,  promised  a  bell  which  he 
afterwards  increased  to  a  peal. 

Many  other  offerings  have  been  made 
from  time  to  time  by  pious  persons  inter- 
ested in  the  Church. 

Another  who  proposed  to  give  the  organ, 
being  of  an  ecclesiological  turn  of  mind, 
suggested  the  ruins  of  the  Lady  Chapel  of 
Glastonbury  Abbey  as  a  model,  being  not 
a  little  influenced  doubtless  by  an  ancient 
tradition.  It  is  said  that  St.  Joseph  of 
Arimathea  with  some  of  his  disciples  landed 
in  Britain  on  a  Christmas  Eve,  planted  his 
staff  on  the  ground  where  afterwards  a 
Chapel  was  built,  and  discovered  next  morn- 
ing that  the  staff  had  taken  root,  and  like 
Aaron's  rod  had  brought  forth  leaves  and 
flowers  on  "  Christmas  day  in  the  morning." 

The  suggestion  was  adopted  with  some 


OF  Eevolutioxary  Times.       121 

modification,  and  the  building  has  been 
added  to  from  time  to  time  until  it  has 
grown  into  a  goodly  sized  Church  of  nearly 
one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  in  length,  and  the 
centre  of  a  picturesque  group  of  buildings. 

It  is  a  singular  coincidence  that  the 
Church  was  first  opened  for  service  on 
Christmas  Eve,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev. 
J.  Ireland  Tucker,  S.  T.  D.,  under  whose 
spiritual  charge  it  has  continued,  and  like 
St.  Joseph's  stafi*  has  taken  root  and 
brought  forth  branches  and  flowers  like  a 
modern  Arimathean  Christmas-tree. 

A  correspondant  of  the  "  Troy  Times  " 
of  May  9,  1891:,  writes  as  follows: 

"  It  was  with  deep  interest  that  I,  one  of 
the  former  pupils  of  the  ^  boys'  school  of 
the  Holy  Cross,'  read  the  announcement 
of  the  semi-centennial  anniversary  of  that 
well  known  and  beautiful  stone  church  upon 
Eighth  Street,  of  which  Eev.  Dr.  J.  Ireland 
Tucker  has  been  pastor  for  half  a  century. 
The  doctor's  late  historical  sermon  has 
aroused  many  memories  to  my  mind,  for  I 
have  attended  the  Holy  Cross,  more  or  less, 
since  I  was  ten  years  old. 


122  Recollectio:n^s 

"It  was  a  church  that  impressed  the  young, 
particularly  by  its  ritual  and  architecture, 
so  different  from  the  other  churches  of  the 
city  at  that  day,  for  it  was  the  advance 
guard  of  that  mighty  host  which  has  spread 
throughout  our  whole  land,  worshipping  the 
Lord  in  the  '  beauty  of  holiness.' 

"It  is  worthy  of  mention,  that  out  of  that 
band  of  young  presbyters,  who  in  1844  par- 
ticipated in  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone, 
four  afterward  became  distinguished  pre- 
lates of  the  church,  —  Drs.  Kip,  Potter, 
"Williams,  and  Bissel.  Bishop  Williams  is 
at  present  presiding  bishop  of  the  United 
States,  while  several  of  the  other  clergy 
also  reached  positions  of  eminence,  Drs. 
Van  Kleeck  and  Twing  occupying  the 
position  of  missionary  secretary  in  ;N"ew 
York,  and  Dr.  Fairbairn  now  being  presi- 
dent of  St.  Stephen's  College,  Annandale, 
N.  Y. 

"  It  was  soon  discovered,  before  the  Chapel 
was  half  finished,  that  the  school-house  be- 
hind St.  Paul's  Church  was  too  far  removed, 
therefore  the  old  Mansion  House,  built  by 
Jacob   D.  Yanderheyden,  1794,  was   pro- 


OF  Revolutioxary  Times.      123 

cured  for  the  new  Mission  Church,  nearly 
opposite  on  Eighth  Street.  In  style  and 
size  the  building  was  very  like  the  manor 
house  at  the  north  end  of  Albany,  and  be- 
fore Seventh  and  Eighth  Streets  were  made 
it  was  surrounded  by  a  beautiful  grove  of 
walnut  trees,  twenty-one  acres  in  extent, 
which  must  have  given  it  yevj  much  the 
appearance  of  an  old  English  manor  house. 
The  girls'  school  occupied  spacious  rooms 
on  the  ground  floor  until  it  was  burnt  down 
m  the  great  fire  of  1862,  when  the  present 
school-house  was  built." 

The  patroness  of  this  little  school  had 
been  accustomed  to  give  annually  to  the 
children  of  the  Institution  two  entertain- 
ments,— the  Christmas-tree  at  her  residence, 
31  Third  Street,  or  at  the  Vanderheyden 
mansion,  corner  of  Grand  and  Eighth 
Streets,  and  a  midsummer  or  strawberry 
festival  at  Mt.  Ida,  her  summer  residence. 
These  parties  have  been  continued  by  hei* 
sons,  who,  in  memory  of  their  loving- 
mother,  have  kept  up  their  observance. 

Dramatic  entertainments  have  grown  out 
of  these  children's  parties,  like  the  plays 


124  Eecollections 

which  in  ancient  times  nsecl  to  follow  the 
great  festival,  and  which  were  doubtless  in- 
tended to  impress  on  the  minds  of  young 
people  the  teaching  of  the  great  doctrines 
of  the  Christian  faith. 


or    Ke VOLUTION AEY    TiMES.  125 


APPENDIX   C. 


Choral  Service. 

The  example  of  the  Choral  Service  which 
originated  with  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  Troy,  ]S^.  Y.,  was  very  slowly  fol- 
lowed, at  first  in  Boston  and  then  in  'New 
York.  Objections  were  made  to  it  on  the 
ground  of  its  irregularity;  these  seem  to  be 
best  answered  by  the  following  extract  from 
an  address  made  by  the  late  Dr.  Hodges,  or- 
ganist and  choir-master  of  Trinity  Church, 
New  York,  to  the  Church  Choral  Society  at 
its  first  meeting  at  St.  John's  Sunday-school 
room,  New  York,  on  Wednesday  evening, 
Jan.  7,  1852. 

"  The  unsolicited  honor  of  an  appoint- 
ment as  first  or  senior  organist  of  this 
Church  Choral  Society  having  been  con- 
ferred upon  me,  it  has  become  my  duty  to 
undertake  the  musical  direction  of  this,  our 
first  meeting  for  practice. 


126  Eecollectioxs 

"  You  may  be  well  assured  that  this  inci- 
dent has  forced  upon  me  much  matter  for 
serious  reflection;  and  I  would  not  enter 
upon  the  duty  lightly  or  unadvisedly,  but 
'discreetly,  reverently,  and  in  the  fear  of 
God;'  well  knowing  that  although  our  prac- 
tice meetings  be  not  strictly  assemblies  for 
Divine  Worshijif,  they  are  professedly  in- 
tended as  preparations  thereto,  and  there- 
fore should  be  conducted  in  a  reverential 
spirit. 

"  Let  but  such  a  spirit  prevail  among  us, 
and  our  meetings  will  be  profitable,  even  if 
our  musical  performances  should  not  attain 
to  the  standard  of  absolute  perfection.  We 
shall  be  endeavoring  to  do  some  small  por- 
tion of  the  Church's  work,  and  let  us  not 
doubt  that  a  blessing  will  go  with  the  en- 
deavor." 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the 
United  States,  although  she  has  never  legis- 
lated against  musical  services,  has  I  believe 
never  in  her  official  or  corporate  capacity 
done  anything  to  promote  them.  She  has 
never  founded  any  "choirs,"  she  has  not 


OF  Eevolutionary  Times.       127 

appointed  by  rubric  any  place  where  an 
anthem  may  be  sung,  ^ow  the  reason  of 
this  may  be  found  in  the  troublous  times 
which  immediately  preceded  her  first  regu- 
lar incorporation  as  a  Church,  properly 
organized  under  her  own  Bishops.  Times 
of  war  and  tumult  and  revolution  were  never 
favorable  to  such  estabhshments.  For  a 
long  time  preceding,  indeed,  it  seems  doubt- 
ful whether  all  knowledge  of  what  in  the 
constitution  of  this  society  is  termed  "  truly 
ecclesiastical  music"  had  not  died  out  of 
the  land,  even  if  it  were  ever  previously  im- 
ported into  it.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered, 
therefore,  that  the  compilers  of  the  Ameri- 
can Prayer-book  should  have  omitted  such 
a  rubric  as  occurs  in  the  English  book  after 
the  third  Collect  at  Morning  and  Evening 
Prayer :  "  In  choirs  and  places  where  they  sing 
here  folloioeth  the  Anthem.''^  They  might  have 
reasoned,  "Of  what  possible  use  can  such  a 
rubric  be  to  us,  seeing  that  there  is  not  a 
choir  in  the  '  whole  country  capable  of  sing- 
ing an  anthem,  or  of  doing  more  than  pro- 
ducing a  bad  imitation  of  a  metrical  psalm 
tune?'     This  will  be  so  perhaps  for  genera- 


128  Recollections 

tions  yet  to  come.  The  anthem  rubric  will, 
therefore,  be  perfectly  superfluous.  Strike 
it  out.  If  time  should  change  and  need  its 
introduction,  it  can  be  replaced  by  our  suc- 
cessors." 

In  a  similar  manner,  and  from  precisely 
the  same  cause,  the  pointing  of  the  Psalter 
was  also  omitted. 

!N"ow  both  of  these  circumstances  are 
much  to  be  regretted,  but  I  cannot  imagine 
that  any  legitimate  argument  can  be  drawn 
from  them  adverse  to  the  chanting  of  the 
psalms  for  the  day,  or  to  the  occasional  or 
even  stated  performance  of  an  anthem,  if 
"  choirs  and  places  where  they  sing "  can 
now  be  found  amongst  us. 

We  will  consider  it  then  as  a  settled 
point  that  the  Church  did  not  legislate 
against  music,  but  merely  adapted  her  reg- 
ulations to  the  exigencies  of  the  time.  Ac- 
cordingly she  has  given  us  a  rubric  prefixed 
to  the  Psalms  and  Hymns  in  metre,  "  to  ap- 
point the  portions  of  Psalms  which  are  to  he 
sung  f  and  further,  but  in  this  case  "with  such 
assistance  as  he  can  obtain  from  persons  shilled 
in  music,  to  give  orders  concerning  the  tunes 


OF  Kevolutionary  Times.       129 

to  he  sung;'' ^  and  especially  to  suppress  all 
light  and  unseemly  music  (that  is,  as  we  un- 
derstand it,  all  music  not  of  a  "  truly  eccle- 
siastical'' description)  and  all  indecency  and 
irreverence  in  the  performance,  by  which 
vain  and  ungodly  persons  profane  the  Sanc- 
tuary." From  this,  as  also  from  several 
rubrics  prefixed  to  the  Venite,  the  Te  Deum 
Laiidamus,  and  other  portions  of  the  service, 
appointing  them  to  be  either  "  said  or  sung," 
it  is  perfectly  evident  that  the  Church  looked 
to  the  possible  introduction  of  music  as  a 
stated  part  of  Divine  Worship. 

But,  more  than  this,  —  in  the  Preface  to 
the  Prayer-book  she  states  explicitly  her 
wish  to  assimilate  her  usages  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable to  those  of  the  Church  of  England. 
These  are  the  words :  "  It  will  appear  that 
this  Church  is  far  from  intending  to  dei^art 
from  the  Church  of  England  in  any  essential 
point  of  doctrine,  disciphne,  or  worship^  or 
further  than  local  ciixumstances  require?'^ 

Note. — The  Editor  had  the  honour  to  be  elected  First 
Vice-President  of  the  Church  Choral  Society. 


